If awarded the Dover Prize, I will develop “The Singing Skin of Darlington” — a multi-sensory, participatory art project that transforms Darlington’s overlooked textures, whispers, and urban scars into a living, breathing artwork. Through community collaboration, experimental ink-based techniques, and immersive installation, I will create an evolving series of large-scale ‘skins’ — translucent scrolls stained with sound-responsive ink, embedded with local stories, breath, and memory.
I will begin by inviting residents, workers, and passersby to imprint their hands, breath, and spoken words onto large rice-paper scrolls using ink infused with micro-particles sensitive to vibration and humidity. These ephemeral traces will be translated into dynamic forms using interactive sensors and projection mapping, turning a gallery space or disused building into a skin that sings back the town’s hidden rhythms. At the heart of this project is a radical proposal: that a town is not a place but a shared nervous system.
The bursary will fund essential materials (ink, paper, electronics), collaborative workshops with local communities, and the technical development of a responsive installation with sound and projection designers. I’ll also use part of the award to mentor two emerging Darlington-based artists and bring them into the process, embedding legacy and local ownership in the work’s DNA.
This award will catalyse a new phase in my practice — pushing the boundaries of my current ink-based visual language into spatial, sonic, and technological realms. It will also deepen my commitment to socially engaged making, allowing me to weave together experimental mark-making with collective voice, breath, and presence.
I want this project to be unforgettable — a ghostly choir of fingerprints and murmurs made visible. A town that inhales, speaks, and glows. A reminder that art can tune us back into the places we think we already know.
“The Singing Skin of Darlington” will act as both artwork and catalyst — a poetic reawakening of local identity through participatory creation, experimental technology, and sensory immersion. By transforming overlooked textures and voices into a dynamic installation, this project invites the people of Darlington to see, hear, and feel their town differently — as something alive, responsive, and full of latent beauty. It places the community not just as viewers but as co-authors.
This project will generate visibility through its unique fusion of analogue ink-work, digital interactivity, and social engagement — qualities rarely combined in regional arts programming. Through public workshops, street encounters, and collaborative creation, I’ll make space for inclusive, intergenerational participation. By mentoring two emerging Darlington-based artists, I’ll support the next wave of local talent, building skills, networks, and confidence.
Exhibited in an unconventional or public-facing venue, the final work will attract attention from local and national audiences alike, signalling that Darlington is a place where radical, moving, and experimental art can flourish. The project offers not just a singular event, but a rippling impact: a town re-imagined as living artwork, and a model for creative re-enchantment of place.
I am a London-based visual artist and costume designer whose practice spans fine art, performance, and scenography. Drawing on my foundation in costume design (Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts) and literature (Sorbonne University), I fuse emotional storytelling with bold visual language. My ink-based style, which I call Fieriness, is rooted in raw gesture, controlled chaos, and the tension between movement and stillness. It explores transformation, impermanence, and the visceral experience of being alive. Over the past three years, I have transitioned my focus from stage and screen to fine art. My works have been exhibited internationally and featured in curated shows including SUAVEART (China), the TULCA Festival of Visual Arts (Ireland), and ALTIBA9 (online). I create mostly in ink on paper, though my recent direction incorporates sound, installation, and audience participation to stretch the boundaries of what mark-making can be. My current series, The Call of the Deep Sun, explores human-nature kinship through surreal oceanic imagery—whales breaching toward the sun, figures borne aloft by waves. The series has been exhibited and shortlisted for multiple interdisciplinary opportunities where ecological and post-human themes are key. I work intuitively, often in performative states, allowing the ink to lead while carefully harnessing its flow. My artistic development has been shaped by my work as Head of Costume on international film and opera productions, where I learned to sculpt character through material, texture, and silhouette. This informs how I now ‘clothe’ paper in gesture and narrative energy. Collaboration and social engagement are increasingly central to my practice. I have recently led workshops for young people and community groups exploring identity and gesture through ink and movement. I aim to create spaces where audiences are not passive viewers but co-authors of meaning. With Fieriness, I am not just painting pictures—I am channeling intensity, fragility, and voice. My work asks: how can we feel more, remember more, and be more present—together? Exhibitions: https://www.brush.bio/maryna-gradnova
Master degree, 2000-2005. Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts. Artist of decorative and applied arts.
While I am not currently running an artist-led studio or project in a formal capacity, self-initiated opportunities have been central to my creative development. As an independent artist and designer, I consistently generate and lead my own artistic ventures—whether it’s conceptualising solo exhibitions, producing collaborative performances, or curating interdisciplinary projects across art and costume design.
I approach every major project as a self-created opportunity: identifying a unique idea, building networks around it, and bringing it to life through initiative and resourcefulness. In recent years, I have curated experimental workshops, developed independent exhibitions, and created work that bridges fine art and performance without institutional backing. I also work closely with emerging artists and students, offering informal mentoring and critique.
Looking forward, I am in the early stages of developing an artist-led initiative that merges ink-based visual art with sound and movement, providing space for experimentation and cross-disciplinary dialogue. Winning the Dover Prize would be a vital step toward scaling that vision — establishing a platform that connects practice, place, and people. My work is not only about expression but also about creating frameworks where others can take part and grow.
Yes. In 2024, I was commissioned by the Hello Stranger national exhibition as the lead designer and regional curator for the West London chapter, in partnership with the Victoria & Albert Museum and London College of Fashion (UAL). This high-profile commission involved designing a series of public-facing performance and costume-based interventions staged throughout the V&A as part of their Performance Festival (22–30 April).
Collaborating closely with MA Fashion Curation and Cultural Programming students, I developed a series of immersive responses that activated the museum’s permanent collections through costume, movement, and scenographic storytelling. The interventions focused on opera and musical theatre, and were designed to create a dialogue between historical garments and contemporary bodies. My role encompassed concept development, artistic direction, and production design — bridging fine art, costume, and public engagement.
The commission was not only an artistic milestone but a deeply collaborative, publicly engaged process that required navigating institutional frameworks while retaining artistic experimentation. It reaffirmed my commitment to interdisciplinary and socially resonant work, and deepened my confidence in developing bold, site-responsive projects within public settings.
While my artworks have not yet been formally acquired by a public collection, my practice has been recognised and disseminated across public-facing platforms and internationally curated contexts. My ink-based works—especially those in my “Fieriness” series—have been featured in a range of print and digital publications, including artist catalogues, interviews, and critical platforms such as ALTIBA9 and Artist Closeup. These features have helped bring my work into wider public discourse and visibility.
My practice has also intersected with public spaces through exhibitions, collaborative performances, and multi-disciplinary projects in Europe and the UK. I have developed work that has been included in group shows exploring transformation, body politics, and ephemeral gesture—often in contexts that blend fine art with theatrical or sonic environments.
The Dover Prize would be a powerful catalyst to shift this growing momentum into institutional acquisition. With its support, I aim to develop work that resonates not only emotionally and conceptually, but that also belongs in public collections—works that hold collective memory, community voice, and experimental innovation at their core.
No, but I have been applying for art residency recently
Email: marynagradnova@ymail.com
Address: 261 A High Street, 4 flat, London, London, W3 9BY, GB
