Freya Björg olafson
intermedia artist / artiste intermedia

Freya Björg Olafson is an intermedia artist whose practice spans video, audio, animation, motion capture, XR, painting, and performance. Her work explores identity and the body, shaped by the influence of technology and the Internet. Olafson’s work has been presented and exhibited internationally at venues such as the Bauhaus Archiv (Berlin), SECCA - SouthEastern Center for Contemporary Art (North Carolina), Ochoymedio (Ecuador), The National Arts Center / Canada Dance Festival (Ottawa), and LUDWIG museum (Budapest). Their video work has screened in festivals and galleries internationally, and is distributed by Video Pool Media Arts Centre. A frequent collaborator; Olafson has worked with Will Pappenheimer, Praba Pilar, Wanda Koop, Sarah Anne Johnson, Noam Gonick, Grant Guy, and Mark Neufeld, among others. 

 

Olafson has benefitted from residencies, most notably through EMPAC - Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center (New York), Oboro (Montréal) and Atlantic Center for the Arts (Florida). Olafson has been commissioned to create new work by Counterpulse in San Francisco (2017), Jazz Winnipeg (2021), Pix Film / Artificial Museum (2023), as well as Dancemakers / Fado Performance Art Center (2024). In 2021, Olafson’s solo performance ‘AVATAR’ (premiered in 2009) was published as a score / script for Playwrights Canada Press’ anthology on digital theatre. Olafson has written a short chapter about virtual animation and motion capture techniques in her work ‘MÆ-Motion Aftereffect’ for the Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Animation Studies to be published in late 2025.

 

Olafson’s commitment to lifelong learning and interdisciplinary thinking led to work as Assistant Professor in Screendance within the Department of Dance at York University in Toronto (2017 - 2021). This work continues at the University of Manitoba’s School of Art where Olafson is an Assistant Professor in Digital Media (2021-ongoing). Olafson holds an MFA in New Media from the Transart Institute / Donau Universität (Austria), a BA Honors in Dance from School of Contemporary Dancers / University of Winnipeg this work compliments her six years of training in the Professional Division of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, one year in the School of Art BFA program at University of Manitoba, and three summer training programs with Springboard Danse Montréal. Olafson maintains ongoing professional development; most recently attending the Choreographic Coding Lab in Chatham, UK which was facilitated by Marlon Barrios-Solanos, Motion Bank, and A&E Lab in April 2025. Olafson has sought the opportunity to learn from senior artists such as Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Charles Atlas, Coco Fusco, Shawna Dempsey / Lorri Millan, and Tedd Robinson. 

A recipient of numerous grants and awards, highlights include the OFFTA Prize in 2025, Sobey Art Award / National Gallery of Canada longlist in 2020, Lumen Prize for Art & Technology longlist in 2021, York University Research Award (2021)  and the Buddies In Bad Times Vanguard Award / Summerworks Theatre Festival in 2010. Additionally, In 2017 Olafson’s work ‘CPA [Consistent Partial Attention]’ was selected to represent as part of Team Canada at Les Jeux De La Francophonie in Ivory Coast. From 2006 - 2018, Olafson was a member of the curatorial committee for the núna (now) festival and served as president from 2010 onward, in this role she oversaw and facilitated projects in dance, theatre, visual, and public art. Olafson was a board member for Video Pool Media Arts Center (2012 to 2022), FADO Performance Art Center (2019 - 2023) and a member of the executive committee for Sensorium: Centre for Digital Art and Technology at York University from 2019-2021.  Additionally, she serves(ed) as research collaborator for two SSHRC funded initiatives the Canadian Consortium for Performance and Politics in the Americas (2013 - 2019) as well as the current Hemispheric Encounters: Developing Transborder Research-Creation Practices (2021-ongoing).

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