NELLY KATE — STUDIO ARTIST

Transdisciplinary practice centering access through sound, language, and the poetics of translation. 


CONTENTS

01 The Difference

02 nowisthe
03 Nevermind
04 FutureFluid

05 [Untitled] 6 Cylinders

06 I Hear You, But I Can’t Hear You
07 Transistors in Translation


STATEMENT

My work is about perception of place as shaped by the built environment and sound. Intersecting Queer, Deaf, Southern, and Hispanic culture I focus upon cultivating ecosystems of inclusion to make way for public imagination.

I blend sophisticated responsive technology with lo-fi mechanisms like cassette tapes, stop-motion animations, radio frequencies, Xerox prints, and electronic synthesizers. These tactile materials illuminate the terrestrial and electromagnetic phenomena which our bodies sense but cannot readily name.

Through multi-sensory installation I explore expanding time, breaking and remaking meaning, and cultivating ecstatic magic. At the core of my practice is the idea that imagination is foundational to building the world of our dreams and that we need as many people as possible accessing their imaginations to create inclusive communities.


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H0ME • BIO • CV • ︎


Nelly Kate grew up in the American South, between North Carolina and Virginia, where she established a career in music and sound design. Her early work led her to share the stage with artists such as tUnE-yArDs, Stephen Vitiello, The Blow, Mirah, and Angel Olsen. Her community-driven work clarified her focus on public engagement through installations of oral history projects, interactive sculpture, and itinerant walks.
In 2015, Nelly Kate turned her focus to inaudible sound—exploring captions, sonic visualizations, and tactile vibrations. During her MFA candidacy at Cranbrook Academy of Art (2021), she developed a technique for utilizing suminagashi marbling and fluid cymatics to make ‘sound prints’. She continues to refine this process through her current residency at Boston Center for the Arts, while developing new performance work.


Some of her favorite opportunities to-date include residencies at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Walkaway House, Wedding Cake House, Carver Community High School; performances at Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Mint Museum, and Mattress Factory; lectures/workshops at Parsons School of Design, Virginia Commonwealth University, American University, Portland Art Museum, and The American University of Paris.


SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Low Frequency Travel Agency (SOLO) • Black Iris Gallery • Richmond, VA [2013]
10-1 100 101 • Quirk Gallery • Richmond, VA [2013]
Haggle (Sound for Leslie Rogers) • Anderson Gallery • Richmond, VA [2013]
Interstitial Transduction • InLight • Richmond, VA [2012]
Sestina • The Rotunda • Philadelphia, PA [2008]

SELECTED PRESS
Sound of Mettle • QC Nerve [2021]
Halls of Memories • Style Weekly [2015]
Sound Scavenging • Style Weekly [2014]
Under 30 and on Their Way • Richmond Magazine [2012]
The Astonishing Nelly Kate • RVA Magazine [2011]

SELECTED SCREENINGS
Low Frequency Travel Agency
    TEDxRVA [2014]
    Black Iris Gallery [2014-Present]
And Then We Were Jumping (Score for Jordan Bruner)
    CutOut Fest—Querétaro, Mexico [2014]
    London International Animation [2014]
    Animation Block Party — Brooklyn, NY [2014]
    Fest Anca—Slovakia, Croatia [2014]
    Animafest — Zagreb [2014]
    Pictoplasma — Berlin [2014]
    Anima Festival — Brussels [2014]