Keyna Eleison is a curator, writer, researcher, Griot heiress and shaman, narrator, singer, ancestral chronicler, based in Rio de Janeiro. She is Co-curator at Large of the 36th Bienal De São Paulo (2025) and Director of Research and Content for the Bienal das Amazônias From 2020 to 2023, she was the artistic director of the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro.
Eleison was the curator of the 1st Bienal das Amazônias (2023) and the 10th Bienal Internacional de SIART in Bolivia (2018). She co-founded the collective Nacional Trovoa, which showcases the artistic production of Black and non-white women. She was also co-curator of the publication team for the Liverpool Biennial 2020/2021 alongside Manuela Moscoso. Currently, she is a columnist for Contemporary &
With a degree in philosophy from UFRJ, a specialist degree in history of art and architecture, and a master’s degree in art history from PUC-Rio, Eleison was a Member of the African Heritage Commission for the award of the Valongo Wharf region as a World Heritage Site (UNESCO). She coordinated all public institutions from the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Department of Culture and taught at the Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage, where she also served as teaching coordinator.
Her work focuses on the development of exhibitions, exploring the meanings of works of art and artists, guiding artistic processes, curating exhibitions, and teaching art, building on her experience in coordinating art education programs.
