Common Language - Katya Grokhovsky

Researching Heritage through Common Language

During her short stay residency Katya Grokhovsky will explore the city and research the Ukrainain heritage in Detroit as part of her current project, Common Language, which seeks a unifying ground through incorporating the omnipresent intangible materials of emotion, intuition and memory. The project attempts to dissolve borders, physically and metaphorically, allowing for intra-spatial generative forces to intermix and rebuild new formations and notions of home and belonging.

Katya Grokhovsky is a Ukrainian born, NYC based artist, educator and a Founding Director of The Immigrant Artist Biennial. Grokhovsky is a 2024/2025 Padnos Distinguished Artist in Residence at Grand Valley State University, MI.

Grokhovsky holds an MFA from School of The Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University, Australia.

For more information on Katya´s practice please visit:

https://www.katyagrokhovsky.net

https://www.theimmigrantartistbiennial.com

Her research is supported by The Stuart B. and Barbara Padnos Residency at Grand Valley State University

The Consciousness Project - May 2025

The Consciousness Project, visual anthropology meets music and production

A filmmaker and visual anthropologist and a music producer and artist will be researching and filming the cultural, social and political identities of electronic techno music in different cities for the second installment of their global documentary series “Consciousness”. A blend of visual anthropology and ethnomusicology, the project aims to document the hidden stories behind the music, particularly those of sound engineers, promoters, community organizers and other often overlooked individuals who have been instrumental in shaping the cultural movement. In Detroit, they want to focus on the role behind the scenes to illuminate the stories, spaces and people who have contributed to their legacy.

Before and during this year's Movement Music Festival, a world-renowned electronic music festival, they will delve into the cultural fabric of Detroit to meet, for example, unnamed individuals who have shared and operated knowledge, space, distribution structures and networks. 

The first episode was filmed during an artist residency in Tokyo, Japan, and is currently in post-production. It includes interviews with prominent artists such as Ken Ishii, Takaaki Itoh and Wata Igarashi, as well as festival organizers, label owners and sound engineers who have played a key role in the Japanese techno scene.

Here is a teaser for the first episode, Consciousness: Japan. (2024)

More information about the “Consciousness”

https://consciousness-community.b12sites.com/music-documentary-research

More information about the artists will follow.