We are happy to announce that Dariya Temirkhan has been selected as the recipient of a two-month research residency in Vienna, organized with the support of the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs and MuseumsQuartier Wien.

During July and August 2026, Dariya will live and work in Vienna, developing her research project as part of the residency. The outcomes of her work will be presented at the Almaty Museum of Arts in autumn 2026.

Jury Statement:

“The jury selected Dariya Temirkhan for her poignant exploration of histories of water in Central Asia. By weaving together local environmental realities with myth-making, Temirkhan translates urgent ecological questions into her own visual language. The jury was particularly impressed by her ability to connect her research to the collections of the Weltmuseum, making her proposal an ideal fit for this international dialogue in Vienna.” 

Congratulations to Dariya on this achievement! We would also like to thank everyone who applied and showed interest in our first international residency program.

Short bio

Dariya Temirkhan (b. 2000, Oral, Kazakhstan) is an artist who works in a media of digital and physical collages, sound art, and video art. In her works, Dariya focuses on water as a central theme, approaching it from the perspective of a citizen of Kazakhstan, where access to water, its absence, and its political and ecological significance are deeply embedded in everyday life. She observes and records reality as it unfolds, reflecting on how natural resources shape personal experience, collective memory, and the relationship between humans and their environment. These ideas are conveyed through the creation of abstract images and mythical beings that emerge from her works.