Term: November 2026
Michelle Eistrup is a visual artist working primarily in the fields of video, photography, and sound. Having grown up in Jamaica, Paris, and New York, she currently resides in Denmark with her family. She holds an MFA from the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen and a BA from Haverford College, Pennsylvania. Her practice explores the history, legacies, and the denial or absence of colonialism through four overarching themes: the identity and expression of the African diaspora, the politics of recognition, the dynamics of isolationism, and embodied rites and rituals. Deeply embedded in a vibrant global art scene, she has exhibited internationally and curated the project BAT (Bridging Art and Text).
During her residency in Leipzig, Michelle will continue the research begun in her previous project, In the Deep Underground and Up Above, and develop Stalagmite Suspension Therapy – In the Stone. Eistrup will collaborate with the Terra Mineralia Institute at the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (Bergakademie Freiberg). A portion of this investigation will be featured next year in the exhibition Sprachlosigkeit (Speechlessness) at the Japanisches Palais, curated by Léontine Meijer-van Mensch (Director) and Barbara Höffe (Curator) of the Dresden State Art Collections (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden). Furthermore, In the Deep Underground and Up Above and Stalagmite Suspension Therapy – In the Stone are set to be exhibited at the Terra Mineralia Institute in Freiberg (dates to be confirmed). In the Deep Underground and Up Above has previously been shown in Australia at the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) and the ArtGeo Cultural Institute in Busselton.
