Viktoria Vona

About me

I grew up in a small town in the east of Hungary, the first ten years of my life coinciding with the last ten years of communist regime. Although not too harshly affected by the waning regime, I have always had a strong desire for democracy, fairness and equality both in social and economic terms. I pursued a BA in English and Linguistics while in Hungary and decided to move to the UK in 2001.

It was here, in the UK that I completed a foundation degree and subsequently a BA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art. During these years my artistic inquiries have centred around urban subjects including the hard and soft architecture of the city. As part of this degree course, I was awarded a semester at prestigious US art college, Pratt Institute, where I came face to face with even more urban issues. Slowly these concerns began to focus on the process of gentrification and the role of artists within it.

In order to delve into the subject more deeply, I attended the MA Cities course at King’s College London, where I wrote my thesis on ‘The role of culture and gentrification in the recent regeneration of inner London’s railway arches’ and was awarded Distinction. Following this, I am presently undertaking PhD level research at the same institution on the ‘The Role of Art and Artists in Contesting Gentrification in London and New York City’.