Iona Poldervaart is a Swiss curator based in Zurich. She holds a BA in Art History from the University of Zurich (2020) and an MA in Curatorial Practice from the Iceland University of the Arts (2023). Iona has been working as a curatorial assistant and independent curator in several contemporary art projects in Switzerland and Iceland. Her focus lies on site-specificity, collaboration, and multidisciplinarity, often bridging performative and visual art in an experimental and process-oriented manner.

CV

Education

2021–23 MA Curatorial Practice, Iceland University of the Arts, Reykjavík, Iceland

2017–20 BA Art History (major), Biology (minor), University of Zurich, Switzerland

Selected Exhibitions

2026 Co-curator, Passat Opening Performance Event, PASSAT Art Space, Zurich, Switzerland

2026 Curatorial assistant, Civilization – Our Life in Focus, Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich, Switzerland

2026 Curator, Kitchen Exhibition, Vol. 1 Raw, Zurich, Switzerland

2025 Curatorial assistant, The Wolgensinger Photo Studio – Through Four Eyes, Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich, Switzerland

2023 Curator, 15 nautical miles, Lighthouse Grótta, Seltjarnarnes, Iceland

2022 Curator, woven into, Nordic House Greenhouse, Reykjavík, Iceland         

2022 Co-curator, Brunch at Rýmd, Student Gallery Rýmd, Reykjavík, Iceland

2022 Curatorial assistant, The Water Beneath, The Factory, Djúpavík, Iceland

2022 Co-curator, Memories from tomorrow, Listasafn Reykjanesbæjar, Iceland

2021 Co-curator, Layers unraveling, Iceland University of the Arts, Reykjavík, Iceland

2021 Curator, Pop-Up Fluid, Haus zur Glocke, Steckborn, Switzerland         

2020 Curatorial assistant, Den Atlas öffnen, Haus zur Glocke, Steckborn, Switzerland

2020 Curatorial assistant, Labor Natur, Haus zur Glocke, Steckborn, Switzerland

2020 Curatorial assistant, AfAf Salon, Atelier für Architekturfotografie, Zurich, Switzerland

Selected Artist Talks

2026 Artist Talk with Hannah Grüninger, In the Cycle of the Sunflower, 4. Neunkircher Kulturabend, Galerie Vordergasse 23, Neunkirch, Switzerland

2026 Talk and guided tour with Ursula Palla, à table!, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Switzerland

2025 Artist Talk with Georges Wenger, Design Lounge Talk, Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich, Switzerland

Residency

2023 Emerging Curators Residency, New Performance Turku Biennale and ESKUS, Turku, Finland