Nicole Killian

Nicole Killian is an Associate Professor and Graduate Director in the Department of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of the Arts. Their practice spans graphic design, publishing, video, objects, and installation, critically examining how internet structures, mobile messaging, and online platforms shape cultural identity from a queer perspective.

Their research interests focus on repetition, looping, and dissemination of digital content, often exploring the emotional and affective dimensions of digital life through poetic metaphors such as catnip, bird toys, and desktop folders. Killian investigates the voids and surfaces of digital space, contributing to discourses on queer design, digital materiality, and contemporary interaction.

They have exhibited internationally at venues including Sediment (Richmond), CAVE (Detroit), Arcadia Missa (London), Present Works (Milwaukee), Little Berlin (Philadelphia), Embassy (Los Angeles), Sadie Halie Projects (Brooklyn), Nomade Gallery (Hangzhou), and the Whitney Museum of American Art as part of Lorna Mills’ Ways of Something for Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art. Their writings have been published in WOW HUH, The Enemy, Carets + Sticks (now Contemporary Art Review LA), The Journal of Feminist Scholarship, The Theo Westenberger Foundation, and Terry Barrett’s Criticizing Art (3rd edition). An upcoming essay titled The Emotional Potential of Girls Presented on the Internet as Object will appear in Modern Behaviours by Exempt Works.

Notable lectures and presentations include appearances at Rhode Island School of Design, CalArts, Central Saint Martins, Royal College of Art (London), Pratt Institute, Yale School of Art, Kunsthall Stavanger, Maryland Institute College of Art, and Cranbrook Academy of Art. They were previously a visiting artist at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (2011–2013). Killian is also co-creator of the annual publication ISSUES with Sarah Faith Gottesdiener and runs the publishing initiative nico fontana, which explores the queering of language, objects, bodies, and spaces. They recently served as guest editor for the Walker Art Center’s Soundboard and organized the symposium How Will We Queer Design Education without Compromise?

Education:

• MFA in 2D Design — Cranbrook Academy of Art
• Diplom in Graphic Design — Hochschule Anhalt (University of Applied Sciences / Bauhaus-Universität)
• BFA in Graphic Design — Rochester Institute of Technology

Advising & Grants:
Nicole Killian serves as Graduate Director in the Graphic Design program, indicating leadership in graduate education and student mentorship. While specific advisees are not listed, their role involves shaping curriculum and guiding graduate research. There is no mention of external grants in the provided text, but their active exhibition, publication, and speaking record suggests sustained creative and scholarly support.

Labs & Teams:
Nicole Killian co-leads the independent publishing project ISSUES with Sarah Faith Gottesdiener and runs nico fontana, a publishing initiative dedicated to queering various forms of expression. These function as collaborative creative teams and platforms for experimental design and discourse.