Althea Thauberger is an artist, filmmaker and educator. Her teaching and research interests include photographic history and theory; documentary practices in photography, video and performance; collaborative/collective community research; biopolitics and institutional critique/reform; and site or place-based art and activism. Thauberger is of settler German Russian and Scandinavian descent and lives and works in Vancouver, unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territory.

Althea Thauberger’s screenings and exhibitions include the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; The Toronto Biennial of Art, Art Gallery of Southern Alberta; The National Gallery of Canada; the inaugural Karachi Biennale 2017; Polygon Gallery, Vancouver; La musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; 2012 Liverpool Biennale; 17th Biennale of Sydney; the occupied Kino Zvezda, Belgrade; VIVO, Vancouver; The Berkeley Art Museum; Manifesta 7, Trento; The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburg; BAK, basis voor aktuele kunst, Utrecht; The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; The Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou; Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; Vancouver Art Gallery; The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax; Overgaden Institute of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen; White Columns, New York; The Power Plant, Toronto; among many others.

Prior to her appointment at UBC, Thauberger has held teaching positions at Emily Carr University, Vancouver; Simon Fraser University, Vancouver; The Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi; Concordia University, Montreal; The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (AVU); and the University of Victoria.

Thauberger’s work has been the subject of articles and reviews published by journals including Art Forum, Canadian Art, Tema Celeste, the New York Times, Flash Art, European Photography, X-Tra, Parachute, Artnet Magazine, Frieze, the Guardian, C Magazine International, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, The Mainlander, Flash Art. Her work has been the subject of monographs published by Artspeak, Vancouver; The Liverpool Biennale & Bohnice, Prague; Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; and Musagetes, Guelph. Thauberger’s writing has been published by BlackFlash Magazine; Artspeak, Vancouver; PUBLIC, Toronto; Camden Art Centre, London; and Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto.

“Althea Thauberger’s practice has evolved from documentary photography, where her recognizably striking portraiture belies the tension of a connection with the subjects of her images and her immersion as photographer within the environmental context of the image. Her methodology of image-making has consistently transitioned to large-scale international theatrical and performance productions, in sites rife with historical and social complexity. Thauberger’s position as co-director and co-producer is dependent on the relationships forged with fellow actors and audiences, creating an opening for complex community narratives to be performed and witnessed.”

-Kristy Trinier

Photo credit: Yuula Benivolski

Photography, media art, social practice, critical theory