Martina Bábinová
Curator and gallery educator at the Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery in Nové Zámky
Residency period: October – November 2023
*1993
Curator and gallery educator at the Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery in Nové Zámky
Residency period: October – November 2023
www.instagram.com/martinababinova
Martina Bábinová is a curator and gallery educator based at the Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery in Nové Zámky, Slovakia. She has long been dedicated to connecting exhibition activities with educational programs that help audiences engage more deeply with contemporary art. In her curatorial practice, she focuses primarily on contemporary visual art.
Alongside her curatorial work, she is closely involved in gallery education—creating programs for different target groups, organizing guided tours, and exploring new ways of mediating exhibition content. Her experience also includes collection management, cultural event production, and social media communication. She was selected for the New York residency through an open call by Malý Berlín in collaboration with Residency Unlimited.
Residency goals:
During her two-month residency at Residency Unlimited in New York, Martina focused on two long-standing areas of interest: curatorial practice and gallery education. The residency offered her the opportunity not only to present her previous work, but also to discover the local and international art scenes and build new connections with artists, curators, and cultural professionals from around the world.
A central part of the program was regular studio visits—meetings with resident artists in their studios or at the RU space—which created space for personal dialogue and mutual feedback. She also took part in curator-led exhibition tours, open studios, lectures, and community formats such as Talks and Meet Over Lunch, which encouraged the exchange of ideas among residents.
An important aspect of her stay was researching educational and public programs in New York institutions. She drew inspiration from formats such as the Writing Club at MoMA and educational activities at The Met, both of which promote creative responses to art. In her conversations with artists, she explored their engagement with education—from university teaching to public workshops.
Martina saw the residency as an opportunity for professional growth, gaining new perspectives for both her curatorial and educational work, and broadening her outlook in an international context. “Every day brought new stimuli—whether in galleries, at lectures, or in personal conversations. I’m still drawing from that experience.”