Gina Disobey is an Austria-based Afro-Italian multidisciplinary artist, cultural practitioner, and youth worker with a strong focus on intersectionality. Her artistic practice explores identity, healing, and empowerment. Since moving to Innsbruck in 2005 to study architecture, she has spent two decades leading art and cultural projects for social change, working in close collaboration with communities, institutions, and grassroots movements.
Within the European project Magic Carpets, Gina was selected for the Artist in Residence program at the OpenArt Biennial in Örebro, Sweden. Over May and June 2025, she joined local artist Johan Ibrahim Adam for a residency curated by Sofia Gustafsson.
Gina Disobey is an Austria-based Afro-Italian multidisciplinary artist, cultural practitioner, and youth worker with a strong focus on intersectionality. Her artistic practice explores identity, healing, and empowerment. Since moving to Innsbruck in 2005 to study architecture, she has spent two decades leading art and cultural projects for social change, working in close collaboration with communities, institutions, and grassroots movements.
Within the European project Magic Carpets, Gina was selected for the Artist in Residence program at the OpenArt Biennial in Örebro, Sweden. Over May and June 2025, she joined local artist Johan Ibrahim Adam for a residency curated by Sofia Gustafsson.
In the very first week, Gina co-organised a two-day workshop with the youth institution Ung Arena — a platform supporting young people who have not completed or started secondary education and are currently unemployed. For many participants, it was the first time working together in such a creative setting. The workshop introduced the basics of screen printing — with an unconventional twist: instead of traditional frames, embroidery hoops became the printing tools. The enthusiasm, openness, and creative energy of the group made this encounter especially rewarding.
The central outcome of Gina’s residency is a site-specific sculptural concept for the next edition of OpenArt in 2026 — a public artwork rooted in personal and collective reflection. She developed both 2D and 3D digital models, as well as a physical scale model made from paper and foam. Throughout the process, she engaged with diverse citizens of Örebro, exploring the connections between local communities and the lived experiences of immigrants. This ongoing dialogue shaped the final vision, supported by the skilled OpenArt workstation team.
The idea originated from a vivid dream: a girl pulling a giant elephant through a small doorway into a room. In Gina’s work, the elephant becomes a metaphor for the personal and collective baggage we carry — our histories, experiences, and the ways we are perceived by others. The arch stands as a symbol of possibility and determination, while mirrored surfaces invite self-reflection: What burdens do we carry? What can we release? At first glance, the work may appear apolitical, but for Gina, self-reflection is deeply political: the personal is political.
During her research, Gina found strong resonance in the 2018 Swedish documentary „A Swedish Elephant“, which addresses immigration and refugee politics. Its themes paralleled her own vision — to create an open space that is not just my room, but your room and our room. She continues to explore ways of involving the community in the lead-up to 2026, possibly through performances, collaborations with local youth from Ung Arena, or public dialogues with citizens and policymakers.
This artwork will be presented in the public space of Örebro during the next edition of the OpenArt Biennial in 2026. We are proud to see Gina’s work evolve within the Magic Carpets framework, and grateful to our partners in Sweden for supporting the development of such a meaningful project.
The residency in Örebro was curated by Sofia Gustafsson with assistance from Felicia Bjärmark.
Austrian curator / artist suggestion: Danijela Oberhofer Tonković, assistance Brigitte Egger.
Currently, Gina is in Maranola (IT), creating a new site-specific work for the upcoming edition of Seminaria Sogninterra, a public art biennale that will take place from August 28 to 30, 2025.
📸 Credits: OpenArt & Gina Disobey
