Chloe Kelly is a theatre designer, artist and researcher working under themes of spatial design, animated image matter and architectural theory.
She has designed stage and video work for theatres such as Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Münchner Kammerspiele and Münchner Volkstheater, as well as for independent venues such as Filmpodium Zürich, GRIPS, Theater Discounter and Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg. Her designs approach stage and video conceptually, drawing on spatial and media theories to explore dramaturgy and space beyond literal representation.
Photo: Marcella Ruiz Cruz
Chloe's research materialises in different modes of address: not only in design, but also in writing, video essays, performance lectures, as well as curatorial and mediation formats. She co-curated the film screening event Lenses of [Re]Presentation earlier this year, and her next film mediation series Crafting on Screen will be shown in Altefabrik Rapperswil in September 2026.
Her writing finds form in art criticism – such as her recent reviews in Frieze magazine and the university journal 4.T39 – as well as catalogue essays for festivals and exhibitions, and theoretical analysis in the field of cultural critique. She has shown her performance lectures and video essays at galleries and festivals across Europe.
Chloe was awarded the Fonds Darstellende Künste Research Grant in 2023, was nominated for the CASS Art and Sid Motion Gallery Art Prizes in 2020, as well as being invited to residencies and exhibitions in Estonia, Mexico, Norway, The Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland and the UK.
She studied Fine Arts with a focus on film and performance at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London and at the University of Arts Berlin under Prof. Hito Steyerl. Chloe is currently undertaking a Masters in Curatorial Studies at the Universiy of Arts Zurich under Prof. Anselm Franke.