Anna Stielau

Anna Stielau (any/all) is Assistant Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at OCAD University, teaching across media studies, film, contemporary art, and visual culture. 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 theory. 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, challenging inherited histories and imagining new futures. Forthcoming work will appear in 'Leonardo' and 'Oxford Art Journal'.

Before joining OCAD University, Dr. Stielau was the Weisman Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Visual Culture at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Los Angeles. Her research has been supported by fellowships from the Oppenheimer Foundation, the Magnum Foundation, NYU's Global Research Initiative, and the Urban Democracy Lab, among others. She has also written extensively on contemporary art for publications like Art Africa and Artthrob, and previously served as Assistant Editor of the journal Public Culture
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RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Media Theory; Contemporary African Art and Visual Culture; Queer and Feminist Media Studies; Visual Activism; Histories and Theories of Photography; Decolonial Aesthetics
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COURSES IN 2026-2027:

•VISM-2001: Introduction to Film
• VISA-3001: The Arts of Africa
• VISM-4000: Future Cinema- Digital Narratives
• VISC-3011: Photography Theory and Criticism
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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