Born in 1993 in Dobele, Latvia, Katrīna Tračuma was enrolled in a Latvian kindergarten in her hometown of Jelgava. She grew up traveling extensively throughout Europe as she then attended the Riga Itas Kozakevica Polish Secondary School. For a short period as a teen she also attended St. Patricks College in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. In 2010 she completed her Leaving Certificate at St. Nessan’s Community College in Limerick. As a member of a multicultural family, with Mongolian ancestry, she considers herself to be a citizen of the world and is fluent in Latvian, Polish, Russian and English.
Education:
2021 – 2023 Mācītspēks project, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia (Higher Education Diploma in Teaching Art);
2019 – 2021 Belfast School of Art, Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland (Fine Art MFA);
2014 – 2018 Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland (Fine Art Hons BA);
2013 – 2014 St. John’s Central College, Cork, Ireland (Art, Craft & Design FETAC Level 5);
Solo shows:
2026 – Ģederta Eliasa Jelgava Museum of History and Art, Akadēmijas iela 10, Jelgava, Latvija;
2021 – Beasts, Studio 12, Backwater Artists Group, Wandesford Quay, Cork, Ireland (12th April to 7th May);
Two person shows:
2019 Annual Graduate Show: From Land & Strand – Anna O’Riordan and Katrina Tracuma, Joan Clancy Gallery, Mweelahorna, Ring, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Ireland (11th to 28th April);
Group exhibitions:
TBA
◊ Drawn From Borders, Saldanha Gallery, Fort Dunree, Linsfort, Buncrana, Co. Donegal, Ireland;
◊ Partition of Ireland, Tower Museum, Union Hall Pl, Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland;
2024
◊ Riga Performance Festival STARPTELPA – Zuzeum Art Centre, Lāčplēša iela 101, Riga, Latvija (30th May);
◊ BLACKOUT – Nua Collective, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT, USA (14th April);
◊ BLACKOUT – Nua Collective, Platform Arts, Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland (7th to 30th March);
◊ BLACKOUT – Nua Collective, Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford Town, Ireland ( 8th February to 2nd March);
◊ BLACKOUT – Nua Collective, Vent Space Project Room — Estonian Academy of Arts, Põhja puiestee 7, Tallinn (17th January to 26th January);
2023
◊ BLACKOUT – Nua Collective, Old Townhouse of Jelgava, Vecpilsētas iela 14, Jelgava, Latvija (9.th December to 2nd January 2024);
◊ Peace Chaos, Zemgales prospekts 9, Jelgava (22nd to 30th June);
◊ Summer of Love, The Courthouse Gallery & Studios, Parliament Street, Ennistymon, Co Clare, Ireland (26th May to 22nd of July);
◊ Portal, Spring Exhibition, Nua Collective (10th May, ongoing);
2022
◊ The Origin Collection, original artworks and unique mini prints, Nua Collective (October, ongoing);
◊ The Drawing Box, A5 Pop-Up Show, Diablo Valley College, Library Gallery, Pleasant Hill, California, USA (22nd October to 22nd November);
◊ The Drawing Box, A5 Pop-Up Show, Dunoon Burgh Hall, Dunoon, Scotland (14th January to 13th February);
2021
◊ The Drawing Box, A5 Pop-Up Show, Wilma Vissers studio, Groningen, Netherlands (17th to 19th and 27th to 31st December);
◊ Fantastical Reality, Autumn Exhibition, Nua Collective (11th November, ongoing);
◊ Presence of Absence (MFA group show), Queen Street Studios, The Arches Centre, 11-13 Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast, Northern Ireland (4th to 25th November);
◊ The Drawing Box, A5 Pop-Up Show, Studio 11 Athens School of Fine Arts, Peiraios 256, 18233 I, Rentis (18th to 28th October);
◊ art(ist)FILM Selected shorts for IndieCork 2021, presented by MTU Crawford College of Art & Design ONLINE (20th to 23rd September);
◊ The Drawing Box, A5 Pop-Up Show, Questa Public Art, 6 1/2 Municipal Park Rd, Questa, New Mexico, USA (7th to 28th August);
◊ Amabie Project, Pollen Studios, 37 Queen St, Belfast, Northern Ireland (19th to 30th June);
◊ NOT HERE/HERE – select Fine Art MFA Degree Show work, Arts for All, CitySide Retail Park, Ground floor, Unit D, Belfast, Northern Ireland (10th to 18th June);
◊ HERE/NOT HERE, MFA Degree Show, Belfast School of Art, Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland (24th May to 4th June);
◊ The Drawing Box, A5 Pop-Up Show, Room for Art, Coral Bay Coast Road, Peyia, Paphos, Cyprus (27th March to 4th April);
◊ Belfast International Festival of Performance Art, Belfast School of Art, Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland (March 26th Premiere);
◊ Equinox, Spring Exhibition, Nua Collective (17th March, ongoing);
◊ The Drawing Box, Virtual exhibition, Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, Galway City, Ireland (12th to 16th January);
◊ E-Quadrant, Virtual annual MFA interim show, BSoA & Catalyst Arts, Belfast, Northern Ireland (group 1 – 14th and 15th January, group 2 – 21st and 22nd January);
2020
◊ Premiere Exhibition, Nua Collective (20th November, ongoing);
◊ Places We Love, Virtual Artlink Members Show, Artlink, Fort Dunree, Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland (3rd August, ongoing);
◊ Drawn From Borders, Virtual Exhibition, Artlink, Fort Dunree, Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland (21st May, ongoing);
2019
◊ Winter Salon 2019, Backwater Artists Group, Studio 12, Wandesford Quay, Cork, Ireland (5th to 21st December);
◊ AUTUMN 2019. COLOURFUL WALL. GENERATIONS. – The Artists’ Union of Latvia annual visual arts exhibition, LMS Gallery, 11. Novembra str. 35, LV – 1050, Riga, Latvia (15th November to 5th January 2020);
◊ [I]dentity – Artlink Members Show 2019, Fort Dunree, Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland (3rd to 30th August);
◊ Summer Exhibition, The Courthouse Gallery & Studios, Parliament Street, Ennistymon, Co Clare, Ireland (20th July to 15th September);
◊ For Earth’s Sake, In-spire Galerie, 56 Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin 1, Ireland (11th to 16th July);
◊ Dungarvan in the Rain, Joan Clancy Gallery, Mweelahorna, Ring, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Ireland (12th to 22nd June);
◊ Wildlife Artist of the Year by David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Mall Galleries, The Mall, London, UK (29th May to 2nd June);
◊ PRINT.ed #5. Singular publications fair, EINA University Center for Design and Art of Barcelona, Cultural space, Barra de Ferro Street, 2, Barcelona, Spain (27th April);
◊ Catch 2019 – The Sea the Nude the Muse, Stella Maris Centre, Crossfarnoge, Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford, Ireland (25th April to 3rd May);
◊ 56th Annual Members’ Exhibition, Lavit Gallery, Wandesford Quay, Clarke’s Bridge, Cork, Ireland (28th February to 16th March);
◊ GOMA 3rd Annual Members Exhibition, Gallery Of Modern Art, Lombard Street, Waterford, Ireland (13th December 2018 to 13th January);
2018
◊ Affordable Art, Christmas Market, 126 Artist-Run Gallery, 15 St Bridget’s Place, Galway City, Ireland (14th to 23rd December);
◊ A5 Art Fair, Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick St. Lwr., Galway, Ireland (30th November to 2nd December);
◊ The Fronteer Open 2018, 35 Chapel Walk, Sheffield, UK (19th November to 2nd December);
◊ 50 under 50, Unit 6 Studio & Gallery, 6 Greenbelt holdings, Borough Road, Richmond, North Yorkshire, UK (1st November to 30th November);
◊ Present Perfect Continuous, Zverev Center of Contemporary Art, Novoryazanskaya Ulitsa, 29/4, Moscow, Russia (1st to 14th November);
◊ Soul Noir Festival of the Dark Arts, The Chocolate Factory Arts Centre, No. 26 Kings Inns Street, Dublin 1, Ireland (31st October to 1st November);
◊ Emerging Artists, Bils & Rye, 5 Market Place, Kirkbymoorside, York, UK (1st September to 2nd November);
◊ Impact 10 – ENCOUNTER, International Printmaking Conference, Santander, Cantabria, Spain (1st to 9th September);
◊ Stamped: letters from Rijeka, Cukarikafe, Trg Julija Klovića 4, 51000, Rijeka, Croatia (August);
◊ Galway Art Fair, Galway City Gallery, 15 New Dock St., The Docks, Galway, Ireland (30th July to 5th August);
◊ Everyday Encounters – Artlink Members Show, Artlink Ltd, Fort Dunree, Inishowen, Co. Donegal, Ireland (21st July to 13th August);
◊ Galway Fringe Festival, Galway City Gallery, 15 New Dock St., The Docks, Galway, Ireland (15th to 29th July);
◊ See/Saw Degree Show, CIT Crawford College of Art and Design, Sharman Crawford Street, Cork, Ireland (1st to 9th June);
2017
◊ UNISON Art Exhibition, Newry Rainbow Community Center, Monaghan Street, Newry, Northern Ireland (28th August to 3rd September);
◊ UNISON Art Exhibition, Holywell Trust, Bishop Street, Londonderry, Northern Ireland (21st to 27th August);
◊ UNISON Art Exhibition, Queens Film Theatre, University Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland (14th to 20th August);
◊ GOMA 2nd Annual Members Exhibition, Gallery Of Modern Art, Lombard Street, Waterford, Ireland (17th August to 23rd September);
◊ Queeriosity, The Crescent Arts Centre, University Road, Belfast, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland (3rd August to 2nd September);
◊ Habituation, Elizabeth Fort, Barrack St, The Lough, Cork, Ireland (26th to 28th May);
2016
◊ Perceptions 2016: The Art of Citizenship, Crawford Art Gallery, Emmett Place, Cork, Ireland (9th September to 29th October);
2015
◊ Reconnect, Nexus Centre, CIT Bishopstown main campus, Cork, Ireland (3rd March);
2014
◊ Two Senses Art Showcase, Wandesford Quay Gallery, Cork, Ireland (15th October);
◊ Possibilities end of year exhibition, St. John’s Central College, Cork, Ireland (23rd, 26th to 27th May);
Awards:
2019
Shortlisted for the Wildlife Artist of The Year prize, by David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation;
2018
Shortlisted for The Fronteer Open Student Prize;
Visual Arts Award, Galway Fringe Festival 2018;
Commended Entrant (reached stage 2) of the Global Undergraduate Awards judging process;
Joan Clancy Gallery Prize (Mweelahorna, Ring, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Ireland);
Work in public collections:
Lucky postcards – as part of the Drawing Box touring exhibition, 5 A5 sized cards, coloured pencils on paper. NIVAL National Irish Visual Arts Library.
Lucky – A5 size book, printed on bamboo paper with archival inks, string bound, card cover embellished with title. CIT Crawford College of Art and Design library (reference only).
This is me – A5 size sketchbook, as part of the Brooklyn Art Library project.
Residencies:
2023 Summer School, Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, Smiltene, Latvia.
2019 Backwater Studios Graduate Residency Award, Backwater Artists Group, Wandesford Quay, Cork, Ireland.
Publications:
Grass Concrete Zine as part of presentation from Climate and Biodiversity Emergency group, for the creative projects developed while participating in the LCCA Summer School “Care of Earth, Care of People”, August 2023.
Voices from Direct Provision, edited by Fiadh Melina, September 2021.
Here/Not Here Zine to accompany BSoA, UU Fine Art MFA Degree Show, May 2021.
E-Quadrant Zine to accompany BSoA, UU MFA interim show, January 2021.
Propagate, online publication from Cite workshop with artist Nollaig Molloy at Catalyst Arts, October 2020.
Katrīna Tračuma interview, Art Reveal Magazine no.47, June 2019, p.86-91; ISBN 9780368954870
Zine #2 by T.O.R.C.H. Collective, Dublin, released on Thursday 11th April 2019.
Quotes – Inspirational Quotations, Creative Responses, compiled and edited by Andy Wild and Mike Healey, published by Strawlitter Productions UK, March 2019.
Print media features:
Satori (online) – A collective of Irish and Latvian artists opens an exhibition on climate change, Wednesday, 13th December 2023
Zemgales Ziņas –Thursday, 29th June 2023
Visibility – Slavka Sverakova on Visual Art: MFA Belfast School of Art, Ulster University, 10 graduates: Here/Not Here 2021, Saturday, 12th June 2021
The Paper – the forum for discussing and responding to contemporary art events in Cork city and county – Kate McSharry responds to the exhibition ‘Beasts’by Katrīna Tračuma, Friday, 21st May 2021
Dungarvan Leader – Friday, 21st June 2019
Dungarvan Observer – Friday, 21st June 2019
Wexford People – Tuesday, 30th April 2019
Munster Express – Tuesday, 23rd April 2019
Dungarvan Observer – Friday, 19th April 2019
Dungarvan Leader – Friday, 19th April 2019
Dungarvan Observer – Friday, 12th April 2019
Dungarvan Leader – Friday, 12th April 2019
Munster Interiors – Spring 2019
Dungarvan Observer – Friday, 7th September 2018
Dungarvan Leader – Friday, 7th September 2018
Broadcast media features:
Latvia Weekly podcast – Interviews: Artists Eamonn Shanahan and Katrīna Tračuma 28th November 2023.
Radio NABA, LSM – Zootehnikums, Katrīna Tračuma: dzīvnieku tiesību māksla 1st May 2021.
Backwater Artists Group – Beasts solo show tour and artist talk, with guest Sandris Ādminis 22nd April 2021.
The Nua Journal – The Nua Collective podcast episode on Artivism 10th February 2021.
Artlink Fort Dunree – Drawn From Borders: Mark Cullen & Katrina Tracuma artist talk 10th November 2020.
Irish Arts Review – New Generation Artists Online Gallery 2018.
Irish Examiner – Watch: Stunning art and design at Crawford College end of year exhibition 3rd June 2018.
Northern Visions TV – Queeriosity exhibition documentary 2017.
Current memberships:
Lavit Gallery, Wandesford Quay, Clarke’s Bridge, Cork, Ireland.
126 Artist-Run Gallery, 15 St Bridget’s Place, hidden Valley, Woodquay, Galway, Ireland.
GOMA Gallery Of Modern Art, 6 Lombard St, Waterford, Ireland.
Artlink Ltd, Fort Dunree, Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland.
Catalyst Arts, 5 College Court, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Past memberships:
Sample Studios, Exchange Business Park, Churchfield, Cork, Ireland.
Backwater Artists Group, Wandesford Quay, Cork, Ireland.