Gabri Christa

Gabri Christa is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice in the Dance Department at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is a transdisciplinary artist whose work explores social issues through a postcolonial and experimental lens, with a creative practice that centers multigenerational work. Christa was born and raised in Curaçao and serves as the founding director of the Moving Body – Moving Image Festival and the founder of the Movement Lab at Barnard College.

Her academic and artistic background includes extensive work with dance companies such as Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, DanzAbierta, and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. She has created numerous choreographic works and her ongoing project Burnt Sugar Danz has been presented at venues including Central Park Summer Stage, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, and New York Live Arts. She also serves on New York City's Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission since 2015.

Christa's research interests span multiple disciplines with a focus on the intersection of dance and film (screendance), postcolonial perspectives, cultural heritage (particularly Caribbean), and social issues through artistic expression. Her creative practice often explores ancestral connections, multigenerational narratives, and the embodiment of cultural memory. She has developed significant work around dementia and aging through her Magdalena Project, which documents her mother's experience with the condition.

Her award-winning films have been screened internationally, with her latest work "Kankantri (Silk Cotton Tree)" (2024) touring festivals worldwide and winning multiple Best Film awards. The film explores her multi-ethnic heritage (Chinese, African, Jewish, and Dutch) through the lens of Surinamese spirituality and ancestral connections.

• John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship (1999/2000)
• Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Global Brain Health (2018-2019)
• Pangea Day Festival recognition as one of the world's 100 most promising filmmakers (2008)
• Emmy Nomination for "Ashe" (2019)
• Multiple film festival awards for "Kankantri" (2024-2025)

Christa has advised numerous students through her role at Barnard College and has received significant grant support for her creative work, including from the Dia Art Foundation, Barnard College's Presidential Research Award, and the Alzheimer's Association. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges dance, film, and social commentary, creating innovative works that explore identity, memory, and cultural heritage.