Nelly Kate (she/her) was raised in the American South. She is studio artist with an expanded practice in sound, expressing its material power through tones, tapes, water, wood, metal, and fiber. Her work takes the form of installation, performance, and print.
Over the past decade, Nelly has experienced fluctuations between late-deafness and hearing. This informs her creative research and insistence upon slowness, the awkwardness of inclusion, collaboration, and repetition. Which is to say, she centers disability-led projects and perspectives while convincing more friends and family to learn sign language with her.
Over the past decade, Nelly has experienced fluctuations between late-deafness and hearing. This informs her creative research and insistence upon slowness, the awkwardness of inclusion, collaboration, and repetition. Which is to say, she centers disability-led projects and perspectives while convincing more friends and family to learn sign language with her.
During her MFA candidacy at Cranbrook Academy of
Art (Print Media ‘21), she turned her focus to captioning, sonic visualizations, and haptics. In this swirl, she developed a technique for utilizing suminagashi marbling and
fluid cymatics to make ‘sound prints’.
Some of her favorite opportunities to-date include contributing to disability-led projects, Language of Lunacy (2025) and ‘...derelict in uncharted space...’ (2023) in Melbourne, Australia; teaching opportunities at Northeastern University; residencies at Haystack’s Open Studio, Walkaway House, Wedding Cake House; performances at MIT, 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.
She’s a creative director with MIT Spatial Sound Lab and co-organizer of Boston Spatial Sound Community salons.
Currently interested in collaborating on captioning, image description, and alt-text projects. Here’s an alt-text/ID project made by students in her Northeastern seminar. Adores opportunities to talk disability justice and inclusive design with art, design, and UX students.
Some of her favorite opportunities to-date include contributing to disability-led projects, Language of Lunacy (2025) and ‘...derelict in uncharted space...’ (2023) in Melbourne, Australia; teaching opportunities at Northeastern University; residencies at Haystack’s Open Studio, Walkaway House, Wedding Cake House; performances at MIT, 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.
She’s a creative director with MIT Spatial Sound Lab and co-organizer of Boston Spatial Sound Community salons.
Currently interested in collaborating on captioning, image description, and alt-text projects. Here’s an alt-text/ID project made by students in her Northeastern seminar. Adores opportunities to talk disability justice and inclusive design with art, design, and UX students.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
SELECTED PRESS
SELECTED SCREENINGS / PERFORMANCES
Into the Ground, Into the Body x Justin Looper • Egleston Square Library • Boston, MA [2024]
pink moon x Gregory Beson • Dear Friend Books • Brooklyn, NY [2024]
Low Frequency Travel Agency (SOLO) • Black Iris Gallery • Richmond, VA [2013]
Haggle (Sound for Leslie Rogers) • Anderson Gallery • Richmond, VA [2013]
Interstitial Transduction • InLight • Richmond, VA [2012]
SELECTED PRESS
Nelly Kate decenters sound in new public art installation • Daily Free Press [2024]
Sound of Mettle • QC Nerve [2021]
Halls of Memories • Style Weekly [2015]
Sound Scavenging • Style Weekly [2014]
The Astonishing Nelly Kate • RVA Magazine [2011]
SELECTED SCREENINGS / PERFORMANCES
Language of Lunacy Collective (Fayen d’Evie, Jon Tjhia, Luke King, Justin Looper, Chelsea Clarke, Joseph Rizzo Naudi, Poppy Levison, Jenny Hector, Zena Cumpston, Hen Vaughan, Ebony Wightman, Jordan Valageorgiou, Adam Dusien, Liam Benson)
MIT Theater Arts • Cambridge, MA [2025]
Arts House — Melbourne, AUS [2025]
Transistors in Translation x Access Lab Library • MIT Theater Arts • Cambridge, MA [2024]
~~~~~‘...derelict in uncharted space...’ x Fayen d’Evie, Benjamin Hancock, Rebecca Bracewell, Andy Slater, Jon Tjhia, Lloyd Mst, Georgina Kleege, and Luke King
Chunky Move • Melbourne Fringe Festival — Melbourne, AUS [2023]
Low Frequency Travel Agency
TEDxRVA [2014]
Black Iris Gallery [2014-Present]
And Then We Were Jumping (Score for Jordan Bruner x Eve Ensler)
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]