Maria Sarycheva / League of Tenders 

Maria Sarycheva was born in Ufa, Bashqortostan. From 2012 until 2023, she worked independently as a curator and educator in various regions of Russia. In 2015, she initiated the Department of Inclusive Programs at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2019, she established the Department of Access and Inclusion at the State Tretyakov Gallery and served as its Head until March 2023. Besides dealing with architectural barriers, she was also responsible for the accessibility of museum content and collection for blind and people with low vision; D/deaf and hard of hearing community; and for the visitors with diverse developmental and learning disabilities.

Maria is also a part of the imaginary organization and curatorial duo League of Tenders, established in 2018 with a fellow curator and researcher Elena Ishchenko and aimed at cultivating collectivities and fostering the affective dynamics within them. Over time, the League of Tenders has focused on disability representation, overcoming the alienation of everyday labour, practices of care, and support and friendship in the age of disasters. Their projects disrupt traditional forms, seeking to place concepts, people, and artworks in unexpected contexts and inviting them to engage in dialogue. The duo has been appointed as Vleeshal's nomadic curators for Vleeshal's Nomadic Program 2024-2025.

Currently, Maria lives as a nomad, wandering somewhere between Berlin and Bashqortostan. Her research interests include care, feminist theory and practice, and disability history.