On 31 March 2026, a guest lecture by Małgorzata Kaźmierczak, current President of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) and Assistant Professor in the Art and Design Programme in Kraków, was held at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split.
The lecture focused on the theory of preservation and documentation of performance art and was delivered as part of the course Theory of Visual Arts, taught by Silva Kalčić.
Małgorzata Kaźmierczak (The Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Art and Design of the Pedagogical University of Krakow, Poland): The theory of the preservation and documentation of performance art
The lecture considers the contingency of performance art documentation:
how an accidentally acquired image or deliberately created documentation
influence our memory of performance art events and create a fictional
action which exists only in our imagination. The problem will be
illustrated with examples of widely known iconic performances are used,
as well as primary sources, such as interviews with artists and
documentalists. It also analyzes whether technological improvements
change the contingent and fictional nature of documentation. It analyzes
the problem from the perspective of a researcher, as well as a person
who has documented hundreds of performance art pieces.
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Małgorzata Kaźmierczak Ph.D. A historian, curator, and researcher of
contemporary art. Her interests focus on performance art and its social
and political contexts, particularly the relationship between artistic
practice and freedom of expression. She explores mechanisms of
censorship, strategies of artistic resistance, and the role of art
criticism in shaping public discourse.
An important area of her research is South American performance art,
analyzed through the lens of memory, corporeality, violence, and
democratization processes. She is also interested in the transformations
of the art field after 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe and the
functioning of transnational artistic and institutional networks.
Her research is closely linked to her curatorial practice and experience
as a director. She carries out exhibition projects and international
collaborations, combining theoretical reflection with institutional
action. As president of the International Association of Art Critics
(AICA International), she is committed to developing global initiatives
promoting artistic freedom of expression, the ethics of criticism, and
intercultural dialogue.
+385 21 32 92 84
Poljička cesta 35, Split, Croatia
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