Gluklya

Gluklya, a pioneering figure in Russian performance art, was invited by the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow to explore post-Soviet colonialism through artistic research. Her film, Gulmira’s Fairy Tales (2022), is the result of a collaborative process, weaving together stories from female garment workers she met during her visits to Kyrgyzstan in 2021 – 22.

Featuring a powerful performance by actress Gulmira Tursunbaeva as a TV host sharing feminist fairy tales, the film intersperses storytelling with evocative scenes of dance and street performance in Bishkek. In contrast to the Soviet era’s regulated labor conditions, today’s garment industry prioritizes efficiency and output over worker well-being, with no limits on work hours. The film’s narratives draw from the personal experiences of seamstresses, materials from the human rights organization Open Line, and archival records from the Moscow Archive of Female Workers in the USSR.

Following the screening, Gluklya will join CREES Director Elizabeth King, associate professor of health behavior & health equity and global public health, and CREES Faculty Associate Irina Aristarkhova, professor at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design and the Digital Studies Institute, for a discussion.

Gluklya further explores these themes in her talk, which takes place Wednesday, March 12, 2025 from noon to 1:20 pm in room 555 of Weiser Hall. Gluklya will share her approach of using imagination and play to explore the harsh realities and human side of labor experiences among female garment workers.

Additionally, her exhibition Threading the Needle: Vestiges of Colonialism and Femininity will be on view on March 12, 2025, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM in room 547 of Weiser Hall. Through film, sculpture, watercolors, and felt tapestries, Gluklya examines the experiences of Kyrgyz textile workers, exposing the intersections of gender, labor, and colonial legacies.

In partnership with the Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies. This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.

Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.