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.
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
