Natalie Novik

I am a spatial practitioner, researcher, maker and educator based in Sweden. My research interests center on urban commoning, collective care, and socially engaged spatial practices. Previously, I have worked as an urban planner and design consultant, focusing on dialogue processes; created site-specific installations as a member of the Creature Collective, and co-founded Studio REplay. I hold a master’s degree in Architecture and Planning Beyond Sustainability from Chalmers and am currently doing PhD in artistic research at HDK-Valand Academy of Art and Design. My research examines spatial practices from the margins, particularly maintenance as a form of spatial activism. Employing methodologies such as participatory action research and drawing upon the framework of feminist posthumanities, I use ficto-critical and speculative methods, counter-mapping and walking/movement techniques, employing both literary and visual tools in my work. My work has been presented at international conferences and seminars; I have been invited to lecture and hold workshops at both universities and self-organised spaces. Most recently, I have developed a course titled Spatial Activism, which I currently teach at the Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts at the University of Gothenburg.