Busch-Reisinger Museum Lecture—Black Expression: From “Milli” to Nelly

Acclaimed Black German academic, artist, and activist (“academic artivist”) Natasha A. Kelly is best known for her multimedia projects focusing on Black German women. One installment of her series is about “Milli,” the Black model of German Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, who was active in the early decades of the 20th century.

In this lecture, Kelly will present and discuss her recent work, which has been featured at the 10th Berlin Biennale, the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, and the Kunsthalle Bremen, among other venues. The lecture is an artistic and academic reflection on the social context of German Expressionism from a Black feminist perspective. Decolonizing the Black female body allows for a critique of ongoing coloniality and injustices often centered on migration, racism, and national identity.