RESEARCH FOCUS
- Alternative art in Central and Eastern Europe during socialism
- Performance art
- Feminist and queer theory
- Transgender studies
CURRENT PROJECTS
Performing Alternatives: 1980s Performance Art and Film in Central and Eastern Europe
SHORT CV
Nora Mészáros earned both their BA and MA in Art History at the University of Vienna (2016-2024). Her master's thesis examined El Kazovszkij's performance series 'Djan Panopticon' (1977-2001), interpreting it from a trans* and queer-feminist standpoint as a queer, performative archive. During her studies, Nora Mészáros served as a tutor for a range of seminars from 2020 to 2024. She spent the winter term of 2021/22 as an Erasmus+ student at the Eötvös Lóránd University in Budapest, where they developed an interest in the art of Central and Eastern Europe under socialism. Since 2019, Nora Mészáros has also pursued an MA in Gender Studies at the University of Vienna. In their master's thesis they revisit early works by Orshi Drozdik, Judit Kele and El Kazovszkij through a queer-feminist lens. Their current PhD project focuses on the performative practices of various groups within the alternative art scene and subcultures of late-socialist Central and Eastern Europe. These artistic practices are characterized by theatricality, the carnivalesque and drag, as well as community building and solidarity. The intertwining of art-historical analysis, queer-feminist theories, and transgender studies informs her research and teaching as a university assistant at the VALIE EXPORT Center.
