Maya Schweizer was born in Paris in 1976. She studied art and art history in Aix-en-Provence, at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig and at the Berlin University of the Arts. There she graduated in 2007 as a master student of Lothar Baumgarten. Schweizer works with various media (including photography and textiles), with a focus on experimental video works.Her filmic works revolve around questions of history, identity and memory. Urban spaces as interfaces of individual and collective behaviour are often the starting point for her observations. In her perception of these places and spaces, she uncovers social realities, inscribed narratives and overlapping stories. She has had numerous solo exhibitions, such as Westfälischer Kunstverein Münster (2010), Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (2015), Kunstverein Leipzig (2018), Museum Villa Stuck, Munich (2020), Jewish Museum, Berlin (2023). She has also exhibited in many group exhibitions, including Berlin Biennale 4, KW, Berlin (2006), Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2007), Liechtenstein Kunstmuseum, Vaduz, (2007), Historisches Museum Frankfurt (2019), Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin (2020), Marseille Manifesta 13, (2020), Heidelberger Kunstverein (2021), Forum Expanded, of the 72nd Berlinale, Berlin (2022).
She has also received art awards and residencies, including: Funding programme for women artists in film/video, 2024; Dagesh Art Award, 2023; HAP-Grieshaber Prize, 2022; e-flux film award, 2019; Artist in Residence, La Non-Maison, 2014; Studio grant, Karl Hofer Gesellschaft, 2008-2010; Villa Aurora, Los Angeles (2008).