ABOUT LEANDRA-JULIET

Artistic Motivation: ‘Capturing life’s in-between moments.’

Leandra-Juliet Kelley is an art historian and curator based in Durham, North Carolina (United States). As a photographer, she possesses 16 years’ experience. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Leandra earned a BA in Ethnomusicology from Earlham College and served as a teaching assistant in photography. Her love of art and music was incorporated in a documentary on Cincinnati's electronic music scene. In 2014, Leandra earned an MA in Ethnomusicology at King's College London (United Kingdom), with her dissertation that integrated interviews and a photographic series of the local grime music scene.

While abroad, Leandra traveled extensively throughout the UK and Europe, residing in Rome, Italy for a time. Upon returning to the U.S., she lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, working for the Cincinnati Art Museum, Taft Museum of Art, and Contemporary Arts Center, before relocating to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2016. After working at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art for 3 years, Leandra returned to the UK in 2019 to earn a MSc degree in the History of Art (Theory & Display) from the University of Edinburgh (UK). Once back in the Charlotte, Leandra worked as the Director of Collections + Curatorial Affairs at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture until 2024. She currently resides in Durham, North Carolina as she pursues a PhD in Art, Art History, and Visual Studies at Duke University.