Melaine is an independent curator, writer, and archivist based in Rhode Island. She utilizes critical theory and cultural technologies to create contemporary models for social change, thought, and design.

Most recently, Melaine has curated new exhibitions in the Providence area, Family Business at Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Presence: A Womanist Love Song to Black Fathers at the Brown Arts Institute, and Art and the Freedom Struggle: The Works of Mumia Abu-Jamal at the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice.

Melaine earned a B.A. in Sociology at Spelman College and a M.A. in Africana Studies at Brown University.

She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Brown University, specializing in Africana cultural theory and Afrosurrealism.

In each endeavor, Melaine works to create:

“The Lovely Unexpected”

Her practice includes ongoing collaborations with local and national partners, including creative studios, galleries, museums, humanities centers, and non-profits, working together to transform traditional understandings of culture, community, and ethics.

In 2023, she partnered with Trinity Repertory Company as producer of “The Inferior Sex” photography exhibition. She also curated “Poiesis: Street Culture and the Art of the City” for the WaterFire Arts Center and the Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art that same year.