OYUN DARIA TESTO

CURATOR/ STORYTELLER/ACTOR)

EDUCATION

• Icelandic University of Arts (2022-2024) — Master's in Curatorial Practice

• Erasmus University Rotterdam(2019-2022)— International Bachelor of Arts and Culture

  - Minor in Religion in a Changing World at Leiden University

  - Minor in Dutch Art History at Maastricht University

WORK EXPERIENCE

• "Speculative Kitchens” workshop curation and facilitation in collaboration with Laura Rodriguez at Metamedia Gallery, in partnership with Istria University, METRIS Research Centre // Pula, Croatia (Mar, 2026)

• Project Manager at Sequences Art Festival 2025 //(Jan 2025-Dec 2025)

• Co-founder and curator of EARTHLINGS ART GUILD, a research art community combining science, arts, and Indigenous Knowledge (Jan 2025-Present)

• Curator for the Snæfellsjökull fyrir forseti//Presidential campaign and activist movement for the Rights of Nature in Iceland (Jan 2024- present)

• Teacher (Skáldskapur frásögn og reynsla// Fiction narrative and experience) for Iceland University of Arts (Aug 2024- Dec 2024)

• Archive Internship at NYLO // Reykjavik, Iceland (Feb 2023- Mar 2023)

• Curatorial Internship at Nordic House (Iceland) (Feb 2023-March 2023)

• Secretary at ACE International Faculty Association (Sep 2019- Sep 2020)

• Curator/Marketing Manager at Ars Pro Dono (Internship) (Feb 2021 - Jun 2021)

• Social Media Manager for Björg Thorhallsdóttir (Jan 2021-May 2022)

CURATED PROJECTS

• "Darkening Conflict/ í skugga átaka Exhibition 2026 // Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland(Co-curating with Sigríður Örvarsdóttir)

• Hamraborg Performance Showcase for the National Day of Iceland 2026// Gerðasafn Art Museum, Kópavogur, Iceland

• “Speculative Kitchens” Exhibition 2026// Gallery Novo, Pula, Croatia

• “OTHER-GROUNDS FILM FESTIVAL” 2025// Nordic House, Reykjavik, Iceland

• “Motion to Change Colour Names To Reflect Planetary Boundary Tipping Points” 2025 // Slökkvistöðin, Reykjavik, Iceland

• “Kindred” 2024 // Ellidaarstod, Reykjavik, Iceland

• “Að Jökla — to become with glacier” 2024// Mengi, Reykjavik, Iceland

• “Unearthed” 2023 //Nordic House, Reykjavik, Iceland

• “Since the First Encounter” 2023// Old Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway

• “Infra-Glow” 2023// Reykjaness Museum, Iceland

• Dive Festival in Rotterdam 2021// Netherlands

• East Art Wind Blog—Online collection of Buryat-Mongolian Artists. This project was made to promote local artists and art. However, in recent times, it became an online portfolio-based platform for the fleeing Buryat community. // Online (@eastartwind)

RESIDENCIES/ FELLOWSHIPS

• Funded Research Field-Trip with New Nomad Institute// JUL-AUG, 2026, Mongolia

• Ecoversities’ 2026 Writing Fellowship// MAY- AUG, 2026

• Funded Caspian Artist Residence (Art and Science) Research Residency with the collective Earthlings at AMA in Kazakhstan // AUG 2025, Kazakhstan

GUEST PARTICIPATION

• Moderator of the Artist-Talks at Sequences Real-Time Festival// OCT, 2025 (Iceland).

• Participant at the Confluence of European Water Bodies 2025 with the Snæfellsjökul Fyrir Forseta // SEP, 2025 (Netherlands)

• Speaker at the conference Taboo-Transgression-Transcende in Art and Science// SEP, 2025 (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

• Speaker at the Art and Science Weekend in Atyrau, Kazakhstan, organised by AMA foundation/ Lecture on the Eco-semitoics in art and science// AUG, 2025 (Atyrau, Kazakhstan)

• Speaker at the Conference: Tales of the Nature Spirits 2025 // MAY, 2025 (Akureyri, Iceland)

• Speaker at the panel Art and Democracy at the Nordic House (Iceland) // MAR, 2025 (Reykjavik, Iceland)

• Speaker and Presentation of the research on the Rights of Nature with Snæfellsjökul Fyrir Forseta at the MOTH Conference 2025 at NY LAW// 12-15 MAR, 2025 (New York, USA)

• Speaker at the Vetrarhátíð Winter Festival// MAR, 2025 (Myvatn, Iceland)

• Speaker at the Melting Boundaries: Research and Artivism//FEB, 2025 (SIM RESIDENCY, Iceland)

• Speaker at the panel: Rituals with multispieces for the Multispecies communication conference// OCT, 2024 (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

• Speaker at the panel: Ritual-making at the Confluence of European Body Waters // SEP, 2024 (Venice, Italy)

• Lecturer at the Mapping New Environments for MA Design at Icelandic University of Arts and Eindhoven School of Design // NOV, 2024 (Iceland, Netherlands)

• Earthlings Art Guild presentation on Soil Symbolism in Culture and Contemporary Art: examples that can benefit soil Researchers for Alberta Soil Art Science // FEB, 2025 (Alberta, Canada)

• Invited lecturer on the topic of East Asian Role in the development of European Art History (Netherlands Case) for the DIVE Festival 2022// (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

• Invited lecturer on the role of female artists in the history of art of Buryad-Mongolia for the “Whisper" Lecture // MAR, 2020 (National Library of Buryatia in Ulan-Ude, Siberia)

ART PROJECTS/PERFORMANCES

• Soil-Chromotography workshop with Earthlings Art Guild at Hamraborg Festival 2026// AUG, 2026 (Kópavogur, Iceland)

• Earthlings Art Guild exhibition “Field Notes Post-Terraformation“ at the ProEnergy Festival 2025// SEP, 2025 (Astana, Kazakhstan)

• Performance and Lecture “Stories in a Cup” with Galadriel González Romero at Future Festival at the City Library// JAN, 2025 (Reykjavik, Iceland)

FUNDS/GRANTS

• Borderland Poetic/Icelandic Art Center — Networking Travel Grant 2026, Finland.

• Icelandic Art Center — Travel Grant 2026 for the project Speculative Kitchens, Pula, Croatia.

PUBLICATIONS

• Can the Glacier Speak? Problematising ‘Listening’, Ecocentrism, and ‘Voice’ in a Rights of Nature Movement (2026) Co-authors: Snæfellsjökull❊, Dr. Angela Snæfellsjökuls Rawlings, Galadriel González Romero, Ole Martin Sandberg, Daria Testo, Randi Stebbins, Caitlin ffrench, Luis Rubio, Juan Camilo, Nicole Desautels, and Cody Skahan for Lagoonscapes. The Venice Journal of Environmental Humanities.

• On Collaboration with the More-than-Human for the 5th annual Art in Iceland magazine publication, March, 2025.

• Glacier for President: Legal Innovation through Artistic Intervention (2025) Co-authors: Adam Switala, Dr. Angela Snæfellsjökuls Rawlings, Caitlin ffrench, Cody Alexander Skahan, Daria Testo, Galadriel González Romero, Dr. Ólafur Páll Jónsson, Randi W. Stebbins for NYU LAW MOTH FESTIVAL, March, 2025.