Born: Jakarta, Indonesia
MFA: 2015 Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, IL)
Chintia Kirana is a multidisciplinary artist from Jakarta, Indonesia, whose practice spans painting, drawing, installation, and socially engaged projects. Grounded in themes of memory, identity, and the passage of time, her work often incorporates materials such as eggshells, ashes, and carbon residue—fragments collected through ritual, nourishment, and daily life. Kirana’s practice moves fluidly between studio-based explorations and community-driven collaborations, creating spaces that invite reflection and collective dialogue.
Photo by Emily Stuart Thomas
Raised in Montgomery, Alabama, she was deeply influenced by the city’s history and resiliency, which shaped her commitment to socially engaged art and arts education. She is the founder of Expose Art (art magazine and artist-run residency) and co-founder of Montgomery Arts Project (MAP), an initiative that brings artists from the United States and abroad to create public art and foster cross-cultural exchange. She also serves on the board of trustees of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.
Kirana’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Dhaka National Museum of Art, the Wiregrass Museum of Art, the Zhou B Art Center, and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, and is held in private collections in the United States and abroad. In addition to her studio and curatorial practice, she has taught at both secondary and university levels and has worked with the AP College Board as a content creator and reader for AP Studio Art.
Award
2024 ArtAffect Grantee, Camel Foundation
2022 Verdant Fund/ Warhol Foundation Regranting Program Grantee
2022 Alabama State Art Council Artist Assistant Grant
2020 Alabama State Art Council Artist Fellowship
2019 Vermont Studio Center Merit Fellowship
2015 Windgate Foundation Research Grant
2009 Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation Grantee
Professional/ Teaching Experience
2022 AP College Board Advance Placement Drawing Portfolio Reader
2022 Advance Studio II Instructor, Huntingdon College, AL
2010- 2022 Visual Arts Instructor and Department Head at Booker T. Washington Performing Arts Magnet High School.
2022 Road Less Traveled Exhibit at Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Guest Curator
2021 Visiting Artist Lecture, Lousiana Tech University, LA
2021 Advance Placement Daily Guest Instructor with College Board
2020 Activating Your Space: Community Engagement and Public Art Panel, Southeastern Museum Conference, (Virtual due to Covid-19)
2020 Visiting Artist Lecture at Trinity Western University, British Columbia, Canada
2020 New Voices, Georgia Art Museum Association, Columbus, GA
2019 Visiting Artist Lecture at Southeastern Missouri State University
2019 Bearing Witness: Art of Alabama, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, AL
Exhibitions
2023 Echoes of Time (Solo Exhibition), WhiteSpace Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2023 Frequent Goodbyes, HSpace, Washington, DC
2022 Alabama Triennial, Abroms- Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, Birmingham, AL
2022 Gravitational Pull (Solo Exhibition), Lowel Mill, Huntsville, AL
2022 Kisses by A Rose, Lowel Mill Arts, Huntsville, AL
2021 My Love Is Your Love, Every Women Biennial, Copeland Gallery, London, UK
2021 Between Heaven and Earth (Solo Exhibition), Wiregrass Museum, Dothan, AL
2021 Path of Entry, Wiregrass Museum, Dothan, AL
2021 This is me, Montgomery, Kress on Dexter Gallery, Montgomery, AL
2020 Distant Future, The Red Mill Gallery, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2020 Silver Lining (Solo Exhibition), Olive DeLuce Gallery, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO
2019 Impact: Identity, Belonging and Migration, Iowa State University, Design on Main Gallery, Aimes, IA
2019 Transient (Solo Exhibition), Crisp Museum, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO
2019 Fe(Male), Expose Art, Kress on Dexter, Montgomery, AL
2019 Portraits, CICA Museum, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
2018 Art of The South, Crosstown Arts Center, Memphis, TN
2018 B18: Wiregrass Biennial, Wiregrass Museum, Dothan, AL
2018 Susak Expo Biennial, Losinjski Muzej, Mali Losinj, Croatia
2017 Uncommon Territory, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts