Dandara Maia

Exhibitions & Projects
  1. YES WE CAN - ARTE Premiere  
  2. Linden-Museum Digital 
  3. Floating Assemblies
  4. Not Yet
  5. Osun on the moon
  6. WAXATLAS Exhibition
  7. Mapping Ankara

Publications 

About


I am a transdisciplinary researcher and curator, navigating the intersections of material culture, visual anthropology, and fashion studies. My doctoral research at the University of Bayreuth's Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence critically examines the cultural narratives embedded in wax print textiles, focusing on their materiality and African identity. Operating between Brazil and Nigeria, I investigate how these hybrid fabrics serve as carriers of Africanness despite their colonial history. I engage with identity, decoloniality, and the tensions between the modernity framework in the postcolonial contexts of Nigeria and Brazil. With a foundation in fashion design and visual arts, my work at the Iwalewahaus Museum and in curatorial practice seeks to challenge and reframe the discourse surrounding African material culture, contributing to dialogues on decolonization and critical fashion theory.

As an Afro-Brazilian, I grew up in Rio and relocated to Germany in 2019, where I am based today, to pursue my academic career. Apart from being a researcher and curator, I am the mother of little Vicente.

Ulm, Germany

CV
Contact
dandara.maia[at]uni-bayreuth.de
danda.rrra
dandaramaia

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Osun on the Moon: An Operatic Installation


 

Iwalewahaus 2021


Curated by Dandara Maia & BAYFINK

 Osun on the Moon is an opera proposition in which Brazilian artist D’Andrade engaged with Iwalewahaus’ music collection to propose a sonic installation at the former museum’s main entrance. 

The artist connects with Yoruba cosmology, investigating how the collection initiated by Ulli Beier can become a sound experience guided by a female voice that creates multiple soundscapes of Contemporary and Diasporic Africa. 

The project works on the composition of a site-specific, multi-channel sound installation developed through generative music programming.
The art installation was curated by Dandara Maia with BayFinK, the Iwalewahaus-based space for inclusive aesthetics.

As a curator, I have collaborated closely with D’Andrade, guiding him through the Iwalewahaus music collection, conceptualizing the sonic exhibition space, and facilitating the exchange with locals from Bayreuth and other artists in residence. 







Photos: Dandara Maia