Maria Madacky

Born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, Maria Z. Madacky began her undergraduate years as a medical student, but soon switched her interests to art and philosophy and graduated from the University of Novi Sad with a BA/Ed in Language Arts. At present she is a practicing artist with an MFA in Drawing and Intermedia from the University of Alberta, and pursuing a PhD in Cultural, Social and Political Thought at the University of Lethbridge. Her art is rooted in literature and ancient philosophies and involves investigations into the liminal spaces of the social, including altered states of consciousness and unconventional structures of knowledge such as mythology, folk tales and rituals. It often employs blurring the boundaries between the art and audiences while addressing complex social issues. Her doctorate research centers on an interdisciplinary framework that draws on two main areas: museum studies and social psychology – it uses methods drawn from experimental psychology to gain insight into how social behaviour in galleries varies with respect to the specific group’s cultural background and the nature of the exhibit itself. The implication of which will be developing customized methodology for creating successful public programs with cultural minorities and especially immigrant communities.