Dr Alexandra Chiriac
Art Historian, Writer

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I am an art historian researching twentieth-century modernisms and their intersections with ethnicity, race and gender in East-Central Europe. I focus on performance and design, particularly scenography, interior design, commerce and popular culture.

My research frequently crosses borders, both geographical and disciplinary, and I like to do this too, encountering different cultures and approaches. 

I recently wrote a book entitled Performing Modernism: A Jewish Avant-Garde in Bucharest (De Gruyter, 2022), highlighting the contribution of Jewish-Romanian cultural production to avant-garde movements in Europe and beyond through modern design and experimental Yiddish theatre. Currently, I am a research fellow of the Humboldt Foundation, based at the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe in Lepzig, Germany. My project investigates the reception of jazz in interbellum Romania, and how the visual cultures of modernity in the region were shaped by, and responded to, the presence of Black performers. I have previously been a fellow of the Hedda Sterne Foundation and a Leonard A. Lauder Fellow in Modern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. I hold a PhD from the University of St Andrews on modernism in stage and interior design in interwar East-Central Europe. Through my work, I strive to widen debate and understanding about the region and about the potential for a more inclusive history of art. At present, I am on the editorial team of the collaborative project A Cultural History of the Avant-Garde in East-Central Europe, as well as being a board member of the Society of Romanian Studies.

​I hold an MA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art and have previously worked as senior cataloguer for Sotheby's and as curator and public programmes coordinator for GRAD, a non-profit cultural platform for Russian and Eastern European arts based in London. Before forging a career in art history, I worked for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where I encountered more contemporary perspectives on Central and Eastern Europe.

Find out more about my research funding and media appearances:
Press
Grants & Awards

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Research & Writing

I have published on various aspects of avant-garde performance history, from Yiddish theatre in Bucharest to 1930s Soviet ballet, and on different types of modern design, from modernist shop windows to constructivist film posters. My first monograph, Performing Modernism: A Jewish Avant-Garde in Bucharest (De Gruyter, 2022), investigates the reach of modernism in design and performance in interwar Romania. It is available here open access, having won DeGruyter’s Open Access Anniversary Competition. In 2018, one of my articles won the graduate essay prize of the Society of Romanian Studies. 

I have edited exhibition catalogues, acted as peer reviewer, and written numerous guest contributions and long-form essays for cultural publications and academic platforms. I particularly like to write about museums, the state of art history today and current issues in Eastern Europe. 

I also work collaboratively to support new research and perspectives on the region. I am an editor for the multi-volume project A Cultural History of the Avant-Garde in East-Central Europe and during
2019–23 I was part of the Reclaimed Avant-Garde collaborative research project on performance in East-Central Europe initiated by the Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute in Warsaw.

Latest Publications
Academic Publications
Essays & Blogs
Monograph
Find out more about my writing:

Conferences, Teaching & Public Engagement

I have been invited to give talks at prestigious institutions around the world, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA), the Romanian National Museum of Art, George Enescu University (Romania), Masaryk University (Czechia), Bibliotheca Hertziana (Italy), Columbia University (USA), and many others. I have convened panels and presented my work at numerous international conferences, including those of academic associations such as the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, the Society for Romanian Studies, the Design History Society, the Association for Art History, and the Popular Culture Association.

I enjoy teaching, lecturing and helping diverse audiences to engage with art. I was a teaching assistant at the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews on undergraduate modules 'Art, Culture and Politics from 1900 to Now' and ‘The History and Theory of European Art, Architecture and Design from the French Revolution to Vienna 1900’.

Prior to that, at GRAD Gallery, I delivered curator's tours and talks for the general public and for students, from secondary school groups to postgraduate students. I also organised and chaired events and panel discussions as part of the gallery's public programmes. At Sotheby's, I led guided previews of the Russian Art Sales, including a guest lecture for Sotheby's Institute of Art's 'Art and its Markets' study programme. I also delivered public talks at the Courtauld Gallery and supported outreach programmes as part of the Courtauld Student Ambassador Scheme.

a group of people standing around a table looking at books
a group of people standing around a table looking at books
a woman standing at a podium with a microphone
a woman standing at a podium with a microphone
Find out more about my speaking engagements and watch some of my talks:
Filmed Talks
Conferences & Lectures

Met Museum public event, 2022
Photos: Filip Wolak

During 2013–15, I worked as a curator and public programmes coordinator for GRAD, a non-profit cultural platform for Russian and Eastern European arts based in London. I worked on the following exhibitions projects:

  • Bolt, December 2014 – February 2015. Exhibition on Soviet ballet organised in collaboration with the St Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music.

  • Work and Play behind the Iron Curtain, June – August 2014. Exhibition on Soviet design and material culture organised in collaboration with the Moscow Design Museum. Selected by the Guardian newspaper as one of the top 10 design exhibitions of the year.

  • A Game in Hell: The Great War in Russia, September – November 2014. Exhibition on art and propaganda during the First World War.

  • Kino/Film, January – March 2014. Exhibition on early Soviet films and film poster design.

  • Utopia Ltd, September – December 2013. Exhibition on the utopian projects of Constructivist artists.

  • See USSR, June – August 2013. Exhibition on Intourist, the USSR’s state travel agency.

As part of my curatorial activity, I co-produced and edited 'Bolt', an iPad app and website created to accompany the exhibition of the same name. I also produced interpretative gallery texts texts, as well as researching and writing audio guides for several exhibitions, such as this one for 'A Game in Hell: The Great War in Russia'.

a group of people standing around a table with pictures on it
a group of people standing around a table with pictures on it

Exhibition Curating

© 2024 by Alexandra Chiriac