Anna Stielau

Anna Stielau (any/all) is Assistant Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at OCAD University, teaching courses that span media, film, and global contemporary art. She received her Ph.D in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University, and holds degrees in photography and art history from the University of Cape Town.

Dr. Stielau’s research explores contemporary African art through the lens of media and technology studies, with a particular emphasis on practices of visual activism. Her monograph-in-progress, "Remediating the Contemporary: Art, Activism, and Temporal Revolt in South Africa," examines how post-apartheid artists use media to claim time itself as a critical arena of political struggle. Current and forthcoming publications include pieces in Routledge's Global Photographies Anthology (2024) and Oxford Art Journal (2026).

Prior to joining OCAD U, Dr. Stielau was the 2023-2025 Weisman Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Visual Culture at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Los Angeles. She has been supported by additional fellowships from the Oppenheimer Foundation, the Urban Democracy Lab, NYU's Global Research Initiative, and the Magnum Foundation, among others. She also recently served a two-year tenure as Assistant Editor of the journal Public Culture, contributing writing and curating editorial content. Before relocating to the United States and later, Canada, Dr. Stielau taught art history and photographic practice at the University of Cape Town.

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RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Contemporary African Art and Visual Culture; 20th and 21st Century South African Art; Queer and Feminist Media Studies; Visual Activism; Histories and Theories of Photography; Media Historiography; Race and/as Technology; Emerging Media Arts; Decolonial Aesthetics and Methodologies

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COURSES IN 2025-2026:

•VISM-2001: Introduction to Film
• VISA-3001: The Arts of Africa
• VISM-4000: Future Cinema- Digital Narratives

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EDUCATION:

2023 Ph.D., Media, Culture and Communication, New York University, New York
2020 M.Phil., Media, Culture and Communication, New York University, New York
2016 M.A., Art History, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
2011 BA.FA., Photography, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa