Natasha Kelly

Founding Director of the Institute for Black German Arts and Culture

Bio

Natasha A. Kelly has a PhD in Communication Studies and Sociology. She is the author and editor of several books, a curator and artist. Her art installations were shown at diverse museums throughout Germany. She made her film debut at the 10th Berlin Biennale in 2018 with her award-winning and internationally traveled documentary “Millis Awakening”.

Among others, Dr. Kelly made her theater director debut with the adaption of her dissertation “Afrokultur. The space between yesterday and tomorrow” at the Goethe Theater in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil (2019). The piece was later put on stage in the USA (2020).

Based on her edited volume “Sisters & Souls” (2015), her annual empowerment theater series “M(a)y Sister” was staged under her artistic direction in memory of the Afro-German poet May Ayim at the HAU Hebbel am Ufer Theater in Berlin from 2016 to 2018. The second edition of “Sisters and Souls 2”, was published in 2021.

With her bilingual publication and exhibition "The Comet - Afrofuturism 2.0" (2020) and the prior symposium of the same name (2018), Dr. Kelly moved away from historical representations and towards visions of the future.

Her book, “Racism. Structural problems need structural solutions” (April 2021) is a response to Black Lives Matter Germany in 2020. Forth coming books:

• “Mapping Black Europe. Monuments Markers Memories” editied with Olive Vassell, expected March 2023
• “Schwarz. Deutsche. Weiblich”/”Black. German. ”, monography expected May 2023

In fall and spring 2021 Dr Kelly held the Max Kade Visiting Professorship at the University of Rhodes Island and Colorado College. In summer 2022 Dr Kelly was the Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Institute for Media Studies at University of Tübingen in Germany and Max Kade Visiting Professor at Middlebury College.

Presently, Dr. Kelly is in the process of founding Germany’s first Institute for Black Germany Arts & Culture.