BIO

Špela Petrič is a Slovenian new media artist with a background in the natural sciences. Her artistic practice combines biomedia practices and performativity to enact strange relations between bodies that reveal the underpinnings of our (bio)technological societies and propose alternatives. Petrič has received several awards, such as the White Aphroid for outstanding artistic achievement (Slovenia), the Bioart and Design Award (Netherlands), and an Award of Distinction at Prix Ars Electronica (Austria).

Education:

2013 Degree: Master of Advanced Studies in Transmedia, Title of thesis: Humalga: Towards the Human Spore (cum laude)

2011-2013 Advanced Master Course in Transmedia, LUCA School of Art, Brussels, Belgium

2011 Degree: PhD, Title of thesis: Identification of Steroid hydroxylating cytochromes P450 from two species of filamentous fungi from the genus Rhizopus 

2003-2009 Postgraduate education program Biomedicine, field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana (average: 9,75)

2004 Degree: University graduate of Biology

Positions Held:

2022- Freelance artist

2021-2022 postdoctoral researcher at Smart Hybrid Forms, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

2014-2021 Freelance artist

2007-2011 Research scientist at the Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana

2007-2011 Teaching assistant: Biochemistry I, Practicum, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana 

Honours and Awards:

2022 YouFab Finalist with project PL’AI

2021 Prix Ars Electronica Honorary Mention for project PL’AI

2019 Prix Ars Electronica Award of Distinction for the opus Confronting Vegetal Otherness

2016 White Aphroid Award for exceptional artistic achievement for the project Phytoteratology, Risk Change – KIBLIX Festival, Maribor, Slovenia

2015 Prix Ars Electronica Honorary Mention for the project PSX Consultancy

2015 professional runner-up, Core22 Speculative Design Award for the project PSX Consultancy

2014 Honorary Mention at BIO50 (Biennial of Industrial Design, Ljubljana), for project PSX Consultancy 

2014 Bioart and Design Award, granted by ZonMw, the Netherlands

2014 Nomination for the OHO Award (Zavod P.A.RA.S.I.T.E., Ljubljana)

Scholarships/Residencies:

2022-23 Ars Electronica + The Art Collection Deutsche Telekom (Linz)

2019 Becoming.eco(logical) - STARTS residency with Miha Turšič in collaboration with Arctur Supercomputing Centre 

2018 Vilnius Academy of Arts: Nida Art Colony Residency, Nida, Lithuania

2016 1.Camp residency at Roscoff Marine Station, Roscoff, France (PiNG, France)

2016 FEAT scholarship – Future Emerging Art and Technologies, European Commission

2015 Working scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, Republic of Slovenia

2015 Leonardo residency at AIT (Austrian Institute of Technology, Tulln an der Donau)

2015 AFK 3-Package Deal, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst

2014 Netherlands Royal Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Texel, the Netherlands

2014 Residency of the Slovenian Ministry of Culture (Berlin)

2013 Summer Sessions Scholarship (George Church’s Lab at Harvard Medical School; mentor Joe Davis)

2011-2013 Scholarship for post-graduate studies - Intermedia, Ministry of Culture, Republic of Slovenia

2009 Slovene Human Resources Development and Scholarship Fund 

2006 DAAD Short term scholarship for PhD students and young scientists

2001-2004 Scholarship grant of the City of Ljubljana for Talented Students