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Dr

Adeena Mey

Research Fellow and Editor Afterall

Central Saint Martins

  • Research Fellow and Editor Afterall
    Central Saint Martins
  • +44 (0)20 7514 7212 (Work)

BIO

I am a scholar, editor and curator. My work engages with contemporary art and the history of exhibitions. The main strands of my research are artistic practices from the Global South, especially East and Southeast Asia, Africa, artists’ film and video, art history and theory, non-Western epistemologies, and their intersections. My exhibitions, screenings and discursive curatorial projects have been presented internationally, in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. At UAL I have been a Research Fellow at the Afterall Research Centre and Managing Editor of Afterall Journal since 2019.

I hold a PhD in Film History and Aesthetics and an MA in Social Studies of Science and Technology from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, and an MA in Aural and Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths College, University of London. Before joining UAL, I was a post-doctoral researcher at ECAL/Lausanne University of Art and Design where I worked on the Swiss National Science Foundation funded project ‘From Video Art to New Media: VideoArt Festival Locarno (1980–2001)’.

As Editor of Afterall, I commission, edit and publish research articles, curators’ and artists’ writings that address the nexus of contemporary art and globalisation, outside of institutional canons. This puts me in the unique position of being in conversation with some of the most relevant voices in contemporary art, curating and theory. Being in this role has shaped my vision of research about and through publishing, and of sustainable platforms for new modes of writing, publishing and researching about contemporary art by authors from diverse backgrounds.

I am a regular guest speaker at international events, including Art Basel Hong Kong, the Helsinki Biennale, Centre Pompidou Paris, Rockbund Art Museum Shanghai and Seoul Museum of Art, and I have taught at art and design universities including Aalto University, HEAD-Geneva, ECAL, and IUAV. My curatorial projects include 'A Viewing Room' (with Jaemin Cha, Annie Kwan and Seonjoo Park, KCCUK London, 2021), 'Film Implosion' (with François Bovier, Medrar for Contemporary Art, Cairo, 2018), 'Neo Geography I+II' (with Kyung Roh Bannwart, Centre d’Art Neuchâtel, Switzerland & Post Territory Ujeongguk, Seoul, 2017).

MEDIA

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NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Archive Fellow
    Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates16 Apr 2026 - 15 Oct 2026

DEGREES

  • PhD, Film History and Aesthetics
    University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland2011 - 2018
  • MA (Distinction), Aural and Visual Cultures
    Goldsmiths University of London, London, United Kingdom2007 - 2008
  • MA, Science and Technology Studies
    University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland2000 - 2006

CERTIFICATIONS

  • Supervising Postgraduate Research
    Staff and Educational Development Association, London, United Kingdom

LANGUAGES

  • French
    Can read, write, speak, understand and peer review
  • Central Khmer
    Can speak and understand
  • German
    Can read, write, speak and understand
  • Korean
    Can read and write

STAFF/STUDENT

  • Staff