fellow

Michael Tedja

Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Netherlands
2022-2023
Discipline(s)
Arts and arts studies Philosophy
Theme(s)
Cultural Studies Identity Visual Arts
Fellowship dates
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Biography

Michael is a Writer-in-Residence Fellow at NIAS during 2022-2023.

Michael Tedja (Rotterdam, 1971) is an artist, writer, and curator whose multifaceted practice spans painting, text, installation, and publication.

Research Project
A family (art) history

Are the big questions of art personal or universal?

I have always seen art as a family related concept. When I read a good book or saw a strong painting by someone I didn’t know, it felt like someone from the family to me. The poet Shrinivási was in my immediate family through my father’s side. But whether the poet Edgar Cairo was family related, I do not know. My grandfather on my mother’s side was called Adolf Cairo. The curator Okwui Enwezor was originally a poet. Was he family? I want to explore these personal and universal questions.
 

Research Interests:

artistic kinship; personal and universal aesthetics; cultural belonging; art and identity formation