Nombre y Apellidos
Aleksandra Muchin
Espai La Bayka is a self‑managed space dedicated to creation, exchange and research in the performing arts. It functions as an artistic factory that places special emphasis on puppetry and object theatre, supporting creative processes and fostering encounters between artists from diverse disciplines, audiences and institutions,
both locally and internationally.
Its name comes from the Polish word “Bajka,” meaning tale or fantastical place, evoking the imaginative universe that inspires its work.
Espai La Bayka emerged as a response to the need for an autonomous place where the performing arts could develop through creative freedom, the meeting of artistic languages and collective momentum. Founded by Aleksandra Muchin (Poland) and Mauricio Riobó (Chile), migrant artists with diverse trajectories, the project was born from the intersection of their personal artistic searches and their shared creative affinity, taking puppetry and object theatre as a poetic, political and transformative language.
More than a physical space, La Bayka is a living platform for creation —
a network that fosters encounters between artistic practices, bodies, territories and ways of storytelling.
Since its founding in 2018, the project has articulated two mutually reinforcing dimensions: on one hand, a residency, research and training space open to local and international creators; on the other, a stable theatre company that develops its own works, often in dialogue with the community and other cultural agents.
Founders of the project
Ola Muchin
Ola Muchin is a performing artist and textile craftswoman, born in Poland and based in Catalonia since 2017. Her background blends sociology, craftsmanship and visual theatre—a combination that shapes her distinctive way of creating characters, objects and scenic worlds with a highly personal sensitivity. She began her theatre training in 2013, exploring clown, bouffon and physical theatre as expressive tools. She later deepened her practice in puppetry and object animation with professionals such as Rita Pelusio, Jordi Bertran, Ines Pasic, Sue Morrison, Peter Weyel, Juliana Notari, Mai Rojas, Ángel Navarro and Duda Paiva. Her work is defined by experimentation with organic materials—especially sheep’s wool fibres and textiles—and by the creation of characters and scenographies that merge craftsmanship with imagination. She has performed in more than 30 countries and develops her own creative line under the name Ola Muchin, an artistic project fully integrated into the creative and production framework of La Bayka, where construction, production, logistics and artistic support for all her pieces take place. Since arriving in Catalonia, Ola Muchin has developed her work in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, where, together with Mauricio Riobó, she founded La Bayka, a creation space that combines research, construction, pedagogy and stage production. Both projects—La Bayka and Ola Muchin—operate in a complementary way, sharing resources, processes and a unified artistic vision.
Mauricio Riobó
Mauricio Riobó is a Chilean‑Spanish performing artist based in Barcelona since 2001, with more than thirty years of experience in visual theatre, puppetry and object performance. His work combines handcrafted construction, directing and manipulation, approached with a creative mindset open to dialogue between disciplines. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with artists from diverse backgrounds, including Peter Brook, Ézéquiel Garcia‑Romeu and Andrés Pérez—experiences that have broadened his artistic vision and his understanding of theatre as a space for experimentation and encounter.
Founder of Mau Teatro and co‑creator of La Bayka, he has presented his work across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. His practice integrates creation, teaching and artistic mentoring, with a special interest in building visual universes and exploring the relationship between performer, object and audience imagination. Beyond his artistic work, Riobó is passionate about geopolitics, history, scientific outreach, science fiction, cinema and comics—interests that deeply influence his creative universe.
Ola Muchin
La Bayka
Mauricio Riobó
La Bayka