Natasha Marie Llorens

Natasha Marie Llorens is a professor of art theory at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm and co-chair of the Center for Art and the Political Imaginary with Professor Mick Wilson (HDK-Valand). She leads Theory and Art Writing in the MA program’s fourth and fifth years. Her work focuses on North African and Middle Eastern contemporary art/film, feminist/queer politics in art, decolonial curatorial practices, and Algerian socialism. She holds a PhD in Art History from Columbia University (2021) and an MA in Curatorial Studies from Bard College (2011).

• Education:
  • PhD in Art History, Columbia University, 2021
  • MA in Curatorial Practice, Bard College, 2011
• Research: Explores postcolonial Algeria’s cultural and political landscapes, including collaborations like the 2023-2024 exhibitions on 1970s socialist villages. Current projects include a Swedish Research Council-funded initiative on decolonial curatorial methodologies.

Her writing appears in ARTMargins, Frieze, and Parse Journal, analyzing themes like Algerian cinema’s experimental margins and the socio-political legacies of violence. A recent grant (2023) supports her transnational curatorial research.

Grants & Awards:

• Swedish Research Council Grant (2023–2026) for “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor”

Labs/Teams: Leads the Center for Art and the Political Imaginary, collaborating with institutions like Columbia University (e.g., 2019 “Waiting for Omar Gatlato” exhibition).