Meet New Residents: Aliza Orlan & David Apakidze

Preparations for the Biennale Matter of Art 2026 have already started! Throughout March 2025, tranzit.cz has been hosting two residencies in cooperation with the A-i-R MeetFactory program. Aliza Orlan and David Apakidze were commissioned by tranzit.cz to create artworks for the Biennale Matter of Art 2026. You can catch a sneak peek of their upcoming work during the open studios event Soirée in MeetFactory on March 25, 2025 from 6 p.m.

David Apakidze – Georgian artist, curator, art historian, and researcher – is developing his project The Last Basilica for the 2026 edition of the Biennale, an installation consisting of stained glass pieces. Much of his work revolves around queering Georgian Orthodox imagery as he seeks to uncover queer codes within Georgian culture.

Bratislava based artist Aliza Orlan works mainly with the mediums of drawing, textile installation, performance art, and poetry revolving around the topics of gender identity, body intimacy, sex, transformation, and the problems of binarity. Her current work and research focus on religions and their impact on gender fluidity.

Aliza Orlan's and David Apakidze's residencies were funded by the European Union (Culture Moves Europe) and the ERSTE Foundation.