Nela Milic

Nela Milic is a Senior Lecturer and Contextual & Theoretical Studies Coordinator at the Design School, London College of Communication (UAL). With over 25 years of experience in socially engaged arts, she bridges creative practice with academic research in memory studies, cultural activism, and urban heritage.

• Award-winning artist (European Cultural Foundation, Southwark Community Arts)
• Principal investigator for EU COST Action and AHRC-funded projects
• Co-chair of the Art and Memory Working Group (Memory Studies Association)

Her research focuses on the intersection of time and space through multimedia projects involving digital archives, participatory mapping, and post-socialist art practices. Recent work includes Wedding Bellas (2023) exploring migration through fashion photography and the Digitalising the Museum (2022) framework for decolonizing institutional practices.

Selected Grants & Awards

• AHRC Networking Grant (2021-2023) for Peace and Conflict Cultural Network
• COST EU Grant (2021) for STSM research on Belgrade’s Old Fairground
• Association of Art Historians Grant (2020) for Olga Jevric monograph

As an editorial leader, she co-edits the Journal of Organisational Aesthetics special issue on London Design Festival (2023). She supervises PhD candidates at UAL in memory studies and participatory arts while serving as external examiner internationally.