How I Combine Performance, Activism and My Job at University

Author: Prima Mathawabhan (UGC)

Veronika Merklein is a performance and photo artist who talks about her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. She also talks about how her artistic work and activism combine and complement her job at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Interview and video: Prima Mathawabhan

Prima Mathawabhan is a graduate of the Institute of Art and Architecture and has been studying at the Institute of Fine Arts in the studio of Art and Image | Graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna since 2023.

The light fits like this?

Yes, yes, it fits. I think it's great.

Could you introduce yourself?

My name is Veronika Merklein. I'm a visual artist, a fat activist, a feminist and, of course, a human.

What did you study at the academy?

At the academy I studied performative art with Carola Dertnig and before that I studied in Kassel at the Kunsthochschule Kassel. In 2017, I came to Vienna because there was a focus on performance.

What did you do after your studies?

After my studies, what did I do? First, I send out a lot of applications, because, of course, I needed a job and then I was overqualified and underqualified at the same time. Well, I somehow, I had an idea, so shortly after my studies, to build my life on three pillars and now I have a part-time job at Angewante, where I have a fixed income. Second pillar, as a visual artist or a performance artist and the third pillar is in the field of activism, I work as a fat activist with the Fat Liberation Movement and, of course, I cannot make a lot of money from it, but this also a part of the other pillars. I also give lectures and I am also invited as an artist to talk on this subject.

How has your studies influenced your current work?

As I said, I am still active as an artist. I had a focus on performative art and I continue to do so. What I notice for myself in working in team with different people is that you need a kind of flexibility in thinking, openness in thinking, also the creative approach, which is often asked for and I actually got the jobs because my unique selling point was that I developed certain brochures and postcards with various creative motifs and then I was able to outperform the other applicants at the time.

Great, thank you very much!

Thank you very much!