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 responsive technology with lo-fi mechanisms like reel-to-reel tape loops, stop-motion animations, electronic synthesizers, and radio  frequencies. 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 conjuring ecstatic magic.


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H0ME BIOCV • ︎
NELLY KATE
Boston, MA

EDUCATION

2021 CRANBROOK ACADEMY OF ART — MFA Print Media. Bloomfield Hills, MI.
2008 UMBAU SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE — Open Studio. Staunton, VA.
2006 JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY — BA English. Harrisonburg, VA.

2024
Vernon Street Studio Resident. Somerville, MA.
Northeastern University. Co-instructor. Media Art, Culture, and Social Justice x Sarah Kanouse. Boston, MA.
Now + There Accelerator. Cohort 6. Boston, MA.
Detroit Artist Market—Third Space of the Anthropocene [Group show]. Terrestrial Radio. Detroit, MA.

2023
Now + There Accelerator. Cohort 6. Boston, MA.
MIT Spatial Sound Lab. Dissolve Unconference. Panelist + performer. Cambridge, MA.
Chunky Move—Video + sound for ~~~~~”...derelict in uncharted space...” by Fayen d’Evie. Melbourne, AUS.
Collective Futures Fund—New Works Grant. Boston, MA.
Trustman Art Gallery—Glitchkraft. Captions for Sun Engine by Jame Coyne. Boston, MA.
Catalina Museum. Sound + design, Cabinet of Curiosities by Helen W. Macdonald. Avalon, CA.
Room 68—Supporting performance for Feeling for the Riding by Gregory Beson. Provincetown, MA.
MASARY Studios. Operations Assistant. Boston, MA.
Funkiller x Erik Blood—Direction, Tropical Depression & Killer Whale Song. Orlando, FL. 
Pratt Institute. Visiting Artist, Conversational UX Design. Remote via NY.
Mass Cultural Council Cultural Sector Recovery Grant. MA.
Opportunity Fund Grant. Boston, MA. 
Boston Center for the Arts—Studio Residency. Boston, MA.

2022
MASARY Studios. Operations Assistant. Boston, MA. 
Parsons School of Design. Visiting Artist + workshop. New York, NY.
Love House. DJ for Tenderness by Gregory Beson. New York, NY.
Fort Point Open Studios. Performance. Boston, MA. 
Boston Center for the Arts—Studio Residency. Boston, MA.
Walkaway House—Tend Residency and Transistors in Translation performance. North Adams, MA.
MASARY Studios. Curator, Summer Solstice. Mount Auburn Cemetery; Cambridge, MA. 
Haystack Mountain School of Craft. Open Studio Residency. Deer Isle, ME. 
Ralph Appelbaum Associates. Design Intern. Remote via New York, NY. 
Wedding Cake House. Winter Residency. Providence, RI.
MASARY Studios. Performance for Art School Confidential. Boston, MA. 
Mint Museum. Performance at Sisters with Transistors screening. Charlotte, NC.

2021
Mound. Sound design. Richmond, VA. 
Institute of Contemporary Art. Fabrication + installation. Boston, MA.
Echo Makerspace—Sound Design Workshop. Charlotte, NC.
Stanley x Emmy Bright. Animation for Butch Flowers. St. George, ME. 
Art Mile. Blueprint Residency & RF Curatorial. Detroit, MI.
Cranbrook Art Museum—Graduate Degree Exhibition. Bloomfield Hills, MI.
Carr Center—With All Our Might. The Difference & Cylinder Stools. Detroit, MI.
Forum Gallery—Candles & Mirrors. Collaboration w Doug Jones. Bloomfield Hills, MI. 
Frank Lloyd Wright Smith House—Speculative Histories. Mamah Tried. Bloomfield Hills, MI.
Wayne State University—Time Studio. Artist talk. Detroit, MI.
Forum Gallery—Fools. Print Media Department. Bloomfield Hills, MI
Department Assistant—Visiting Artist & Tech. Cranbrook Academy of Art. Bloomfield Hills, MI.

2020
Image Text Ithaca—Falling Through Maps, Emmy Catedral. Ithaca, NY.
Anderson Ranch—Scholarship recipient. Repeat Pattern, Padma Rajendran. Aspen, CO.
Farm Residency. Laurens, NY.
Popp’s Packing—TipsTalk. Hamtramck, MI.
Blueprint Residency. I Hear You, But I Can’t Hear You. Chicago, IL.

2019
International Journal of Arts Education—On the Hex: A Road Map for Experiential Oral Histories. Common Ground Research Networks.
Belk. Production designer. Charlotte, NC.
Farm Residency. Laurens, NY.
University of Richmond. Graduate Education Speaking Series: Finding Strengths through Learning Stories. Richmond, VA.
University of Richmond. Sound Education Workshop with Lonnie Battle, Josh Malerman, Thomas Brownell, and Aijung Kim. Richmond, VA.

2018
Time Camp 002. Anti-Planning and the Ecstasy of the Hour. Workshop + performance. Charlotte, NC.
Goodyear Arts Residency. Charlotte, NC.
Treefort Fest. Tour with C.J. Boyd.
  • Treefort Fest. Boise Contemporary Theater. Boise, ID.
  • Andy's House. LaGrande, OR.
  • The Bayou. Moscow, ID. 
  • Hollow Earth Radio. Seattle, WA.

2017
Black Iris Gallery—Selective Listening. 4 analog tape compositions emulated + arranged live in quad; vocals performed through a pair of walkie talkies, with spoken word selections from Elizabeth Bishop's, 'One Art.' Richmond, VA.
Portland Art Museum. Talk at Museum Next Conference. Portland, OR.
American University of Paris. Sparking New Conversations Workshop. Arts in Society Conference. Paris, France.

2016
Farfields Fellowship. 7-site itinerant sonic walk. 3-month fellowship (funding, room + board). Farfields Farm, Afton, VA.
Infranatural. Live score for Leslie Rogers, Katherine Helen Fischer, and Emmy Bright. The Cave, Detroit, MI.

2015
'merikan Merkintile. Month-long performance tour with Leslie Rogers.
  • Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. Detroit, MA.
  • Trumbull Plex Collective — Detroit, MA
  • Mattress Factory — Pittsburgh, PA 
  • 186 Carpenter—Providence, RI
  • Over the Eight—Brooklyn, NY
  • P/H/A/O/N—Brooklyn, NY 
  • Magic Pictures—Philadelphia, PA
  • Reverb Collective—Baltimore, MD
  • Strange Matter—Richmond, VA
  • Miami Music Club—Miami, FL
  • Nothing Arts Center—Sarasota, FL
  • Tiny Town—Tuscon, AZ
  • DA Center for the Arts—Pomona, CA
  • Adams & Ollman—Portland, OR

Woodshedding : Self-released cassette, engineered by Brent Delventhal.
Concrete Poem Series : Screenprinted poster series, curated by Derek Beaulieu.
Innovate LIVE Panel. Staunton, VA. 
Chesterfield Community High School—Carver [ON] Record. Teaching artist residency facilitating oral history recordings and 4-part interactive A/V installation. Grant from Partners in the Arts, University of Richmond. Richmond, VA.

2014
Poppy II. 48 x 48" painting. Commissioned by Marcus Andersson. Richmond, VA.
Studio Two Three. Artist-in-residency. Richmond, VA.
Sea Dream. Score w Anduin for dance by Malinda Crump. Richmond, VA. 
VCU. GSEX Digit Al Panelist. Richmond, VA.
TEDx. Screening of 37° 32' 15.9066", -77° 25' 33.6". Richmond, VA.
American University. Visiting artist, 3 lectures. Washington, D.C.

2013
Then They Were Jumping. Score for film by Jordan Bruner. Commissioned by Eve Ensler.
Low Frequency Travel Agency. Solo show. 6-site interactive itinerant sonic walk. Black Iris Gallery, Richmond, VA. Curated by Benjamin Thorp.
Black Iris Gallery. Artist-in-resident.
Quirk Gallery. 10⁻1 100101. 23 illustrations. Richmond, VA. Curated by Mary Fleming.
Studio Two Three. Artist-in-resident.
Poppies. Series of 6 watercolors. Commissioned by Kate O’Hagan.
Good Day RVA. Belle Isle, Richmond, VA.
GeNDeRS. A/V performance with Michele Seippel. Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA.
Brooklyn Open Studios. Live performance. Brooklyn, NY.
GRTC Street Art Steamrolled Map. Consultant. Studio Two Three, Richmond, VA.
Haggle. 6-channel sound installation w/ Brent Delventhal. Anderson Gallery + Black Iris, Richmond, VA. Commissioned by Leslie Rogers.
Topographic Pockets. Panelist at The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, Charlottesville, VA.
American University. Visiting Artist, 3 lectures. Washington, D.C.
Virginia Commonwealth University. Visiting Artist. Richmond, VA.
Interstitial Spaces : Places of Danger, Places of Victory. Lecture for American Institute of Architects forum. Storefront for Community Design, Richmond, VA.

2012
ISH ISH. Short run vinyl release, with 50 illustrations [22 x 22"]. Opening exhibit at Gallery 5, Richmond, VA.  
ISH ISH. Cassette release by Obsolete Media Objects.
Interstitial Transduction. Interactive A/V install collaboration with Dave Watkins. Awarded ‘People’s Choice.’ InLight. 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA. Curated by Melissa Ho.  
1708 Gallery. Monster Drawing Rally. Skyward. 2 illustrations [48 x 48"]. Richmond, VA.

2011
Sleeping Moon. Stop-motion animation music video. Commissioned by Wes Swing.
Quirk Gallery. Supersketch. Cameras. 5 illustrations [5 x 5"]. Richmond, VA.
1708 Gallery. Monster Drawing Rally. Bicycles, 3 illustrations [5 x 5"]. Richmond, VA.
Aux Send. Live video performance + EP release.

2010
Helene E. Berman Archive. Commissioned by Laurie Berman. Staunton, VA.
All of the Afters. Sound recording.

2009
The Forest, the Town, and the Bay. Short film. Commissioned by FreemanWhite Architects.
Spectrum Studios. UN Series & In Lieu. 10 illustrations & A/V installation. Staunton, VA. Curated by Mary Catherine Richardson + George Peterson.
The Circles We Dream. Sound recording.
However It Evolves. Self-published zine of story, illustrations, and music.

2008
Shared Identity. 50-pg. report created with Jarrod West and Nazif Hasanbegovic. Grant from the Trust for Mutual Understanding. Sarajevo and Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Design Philadelphia. Philly Heart Design. Sestina. Visual poem of illustrations. Curated by Alexandra Schmidt-Ullrich. The Rotunda of UPenn, Philadelphia, PA.
Megawords Storefront. Umbau Manifesto 50 & Cultural Identity in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Series of 50 poster designs and video installation. Curated by Megawords Magazine. Philadelphia, PA.
Kigali, Rwanda. Proposed hybrid school to Minister of Education, representing Umbau School of Architecture (Staunton, VA) + KAOSPilot (Århus, Denmark). Private endowment.
The Week Matt Stayed EP. Sound recording.

2007
Cross-Pollinated. Mobile film projection collaboration with students from Washington Alexandria Architectural Center. Washington, DC.
Charrette 5. Curator. 15-artists responded to the number five. One night installation. Staunton, VA.
• When We Meet. [5 x 5’ acrylic]
• As We Made [video installation]
• Floppied [series of stencils]. 
It’s 5. Sound recording + hand-painted covers.

2006
Mysterious Ways. Sound recording, booklet, poster, and trading cards design with Matt Gauck.