At the beginning of October, Omar Mirza took on the position of city curator. He works in the Department of Urban Planning at the Trenčín City Hall. His extensive experience in curating, a comprehensive understanding of topics and issues related to public space, and communication skills were decisive factors in the selection committee.
Omar Mirza studied art history at the University of Vienna. He served as a curator at the Nitrianska galéria, where he organized nearly fifty solo and collective exhibitions featuring artists from Slovakia and abroad, as well as the City Art Fest, a festival of art in public spaces.
He has collaborated with various Slovak and international institutions, cultural centers, and festivals on contemporary art and public art projects, including Kunsthalle Bratislava, Nová synagóga Žilina, the Hradby samoty festival, Korzo Zálesie, Uměleckoprůmyslové muzeum Praha, Kulturdrogerie Vienna and the Art Stays Ptuj festival in Slovenia. In 2009, he curated the Slovak section at Praguebiennale 4 in Prague.
Omar Mirza writes articles on art, moderates discussions, and serves as the Vice President of the Slovak section of AICA - the International Association of Art Critics based in Paris. In the past, he created online video series on contemporary art and currently works as an external moderator at Radio Devín, where he hosts discussions on visual arts, architecture, and design. When not working, he dedicates his time to his family and plays drums in a punk band called Kotúče DM.
In the photographs:
- Omar Mirza moderating the multimedia discussion-presentation evening HOBBYti – or what artists and curators do when not engaged in art?, topic: music, Kunsthalle Bratislava, January 20, 2014. Photo by: Daša Barteková.
- At Trenčín Castle. Photo by: Peter Richtarech.
- Guided tour of the exhibition Fetish of the Present, Nitrianska galéria, December 14, 2018 – March 31, 2019. Photo by: Martin Daniš.
- At work. Photo by: Júlia Gavačová.
- Omar Mirza as a seller at the PNS stand, the artwork by Stano Masár titled Appearing Memory (Post News Stand) at Svätopluk Square in Nitra during the International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra (September 27 – October 1, 2019) as part of the exhibition project Forms of Freedom, Nitrianska galéria, September 13 – November 24, 2019. Photo by: Martin Sipták.
- Guided tour of the exhibition Sea, Nitrianska galéria, June 9 – October 15, 2023. Photo by: Martin Daniš.
- Under Trenčín Castle. Photo by: Júlia Gavačová.