Barby Asante

Barby Asante is a Lecturer in Fine Art Critical Studies within the Art Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. An accomplished artist, curator, and educator, she works across social practice, film, performance, and collective writing to create transformative spaces for ritual and healing. Her academic journey includes a BA Hons in Fine Art Time Based Media from the University of East London (1995), an MA in Visual Culture from Middlesex University (1999), and a Practice Based PhD from CREAM at the University of Westminster (2022).

Asante's research centers on Black Feminism and decolonial theory, foregrounding knowledge from African, Caribbean, Latin American, and Indigenous communities. She explores how these frameworks inform art practice, institutions, and curation, with particular focus on social justice, care work, environmental justice, and abolition. Integrating West African cosmologies into her theoretical approach, she investigates archives, memory practices, and hauntology in art, alongside performance studies related to race, gender, and queer theory. Her work draws inspiration from Akan heritage and African Diaspora histories, examining post-colonial migrations and their implications for understanding history and memory in the UK and Europe.

Her extensive publication record reveals a consistent engagement with Black feminist and decolonial methodologies across multiple formats. A significant thread throughout her output is the 'Declaration of Independence' project (ongoing since 2017), which manifests as performances, podcasts, and exhibitions exploring Black liberation and self-determination. Her scholarship demonstrates how artistic practice functions as critical theory and social intervention, particularly through concepts like Sankofa that connect past, present, and future. Her recent work shows increasing engagement with ecological justice and community-based knowledge systems.

Asante's professional activities include significant collaborations with institutions such as the Stuart Hall Foundation, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and the Library of Africa and the African Diaspora (2023 residency). Her ongoing projects 'The Queen and the Black-Eyed Squint' and 'Declaration of Independence' demonstrate sustained research commitment across multiple platforms and international contexts. Her work frequently involves collective approaches, as seen in collaborations with artists like Rabz Lansiquot and Imani Mason Jordan, reflecting her commitment to community-based knowledge production and transformative practices.