Grada Kilomba

Grada Kilomba is a Portuguese artist based in Berlin. Her work explores themes of memory, trauma, gender, and post-colonialism, questioning ideas surrounding knowledge, power, and violence. Her practice encompasses performances, staged readings, videos, sculptural installations, and sound pieces, all serving as channels for her distinctive approach to decolonial storytelling.

Biography of Grada Kilomba

Grada Kilomba was born in 1968 in Lisbon, Portugal. She holds a Doctorate in Philosophy from the Freie Universität Berlin and has been recently awarded an Honoris Causa Doctorate by ISPA, Lisbon. Kilomba has lectured at various international universities.

She participated in significant art exhibitions such as La Biennale de Lubumbashi VI (2019), the 10th Berlin Biennale (2018), Documenta 14 (2017) in Kassel, and the Bienal de São Paulo (2016).

Her recent solo shows include "Barco" at Inhotim Museum in Brumadinho (2024), "Grada Kilomba" at Pace Gallery in New York (2023), "Espressioni" at Castello di Rivoli in Turin (2022), "Heroines, Birds & Monsters" at Amant Foundation in New York (2021), and "The Words That Were Missing" at McLaughlin Gallery in Berlin (2021). 

Grada Kilomba's works have been featured in numerous group exhibitions held at various venues worldwide, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Sesc Pompeia in São Paulo, Rautenstrauch Joest Museum in Cologne, Galeria Municipal do Porto in Porto, Gorki Theatre in Berlin, among others. 

Her work is included in notable public and private collections globally, such as Tate Modern in London, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Hartwig Art Foundation in Amsterdam, the Rennie Collection in Toronto, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon.