Alexandra CHIRIAC

2026/2027

Field of Study:
Art History

Research Program:
NEC Odobleja

Affiliation:
Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO)

Position:
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellow

Country:
Romania

Research Project

Sounds of Silence: Black Performance, Belonging, and Modernity in Romania

The project investigates the experiences of African American performers in twentieth century Romania, tracing individual trajectories and exploring their mobility, cultural influence, and interactions with shifting political regimes. Deploying performance as a cultural form and a theoretical approach, it probes historical and archival absences, reveals processes of cultural creolization, and situates Romania within global histories of race, colonialism, and modernity.