معرفی
Dr. Katharina Greven is a postdoctoral researcher in the 'Africa Multiple' Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth, affiliated with the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies and the Research Section 'Arts & Aesthetics'. She holds a PhD from the University of Bayreuth (2020) and an MA in African Language Studies (2012). Prior roles include senior researcher in 'African Art History and the Formation of a Modern Aesthetic' (2015–2019), deputy director of Iwalewahaus (2012), and program assistant at Goethe-Institut Nairobi (2009–2012). She also studied Free Art at the Düsseldorf Art Academy (graduated 2007).
Her research focuses on archives, postcolonial knowledge production, and collaborative interpretation of visual culture. Central themes include the role of European art patrons in shaping African cultural narratives, transnational artistic exchanges, and the intersection of modernism and colonial histories. Key projects involve analyzing the Ulli Beier archive and re-examining the Mbari movement in Nigerian art.
Her publications span art historiography, cultural criticism, and African modernisms. Recent work explores women’s contributions to Mbari practices, the affective dimensions of archival research, and the interplay between hip hop, language, and identity in Nairobi.
Greven collaborates extensively with institutions like Iwalewahaus and contributes to critical interventions in African art discourse. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates art history, cultural studies, and postcolonial theory to challenge Eurocentric frameworks in academic and curatorial practices.
