Visual Anthropologist | Artist | Educator

 

Kara Mshinda (she/her) is a visual anthropologist and interdisciplinary artist whose practice explores identity, memory, and embodiment in community contexts. Drawing from her anthropological training, she creates photo-based artworks using collage, collaborative portraiture, and alternative photographic processes to document urban landscapes, social encounters, and the material culture of daily life. Her current body of work, All Hands Hold, is an instant film photography project investigating identity expression and hand performance.

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Mshinda holds a Master of Arts in Anthropology with a specialization in Visual Communication from Temple University (2007) and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Interdisciplinary Anthropology from The University of Akron (2002). Her formal training in anthropology informs her ethnographic approach to art-making, allowing her to reveal overlooked patterns and meaning in everyday urban "imprints."

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As Assistant Network Director at Tiger Strikes Asteroid Philadelphia and Principal Collaborator at GrioXArts studio at Cherry Street Pier, Mshinda actively fosters community through process-based art education and collaborative projects. She also serves as Fellowship Director at Da Vinci Art Alliance and teaches "Race, Identity, and Experience in American Art" as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University.

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Mshinda's work has been featured in solo exhibitions including "Instant Artifacts" at Tiger Strikes Asteroid (2023) and "All Hands Hold" at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Center (2022). Her art has been included in numerous group exhibitions across Philadelphia and internationally, including shows at Schau Fenster in Berlin, Mana Contemporary in Chicago, and LaNao Galería in Mexico City. In 2023, she was a recipient of the prestigious Wind Challenge Exhibition Series award from Fleisher Art Memorial.

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Recent accomplishments include a Philadelphia Fellowship for Black Artists from Mural Arts Philadelphia (2024), a studio residency at GrioXArts, Cherry Street Pier (2024), and a Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Grant from the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (2024). Her written contributions include critical reviews and commentary on archival use of images in publications like "Return, Repatriate, Repair: The Case for Abolition at the Penn Museum" (2023).

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Mshinda regularly shares her expertise through lectures, workshops, and panel discussions focusing on collage techniques, vernacular photography, and the intersection of art and identity. She serves on the William Way Arts Committee and the Exhibition Committee at Da Vinci Art Alliance, further demonstrating her commitment to advancing the arts in Philadelphia and supporting LGBTQ+ artistic expression.