Stacey Kirby is a queer, white-bodied, self-appointed civil servant and interdisciplinary artist known for creating participatory installations that explore themes of identity, community, and civil rights. Through interactive performances and immersive environments, she invites audiences to reflect on their roles in civic and social engagement. Kirby's work takes place in traditional art spaces and alternative public spaces such as restrooms, on billboards and at protests.
As the recipient of the 2025 Roman J. Witt Artist-in-Residence Award, Kirby will collaborate with the campus community to create a new iteration of The Bureau of Personal Belonging, reflecting the current cultural, societal, and political landscape. The Bureau, a series of performances set within site-specific art installations, utilizes bureaucratic forms, postures, and language in vintage office environments to engage participants and community performers in exploring questions of civil authority. With a history spanning two decades, including over 200 performances, involving 300 community performers, and engaging 10,000 participants, Kirby’s work employs humor and satire to foster an on-going dialogue about identity, community, and human rights.
Kirby is a recipient of numerous awards, including the ArtPrize 8 Juried Grand Prize and an NC Arts Council Artist Fellowship for Visual Artists; has been nominated for the United States Artists Award and the Anonymous Was A Woman Award; and was a finalist for the 1858 Prize. Kirby has also been awarded artist residencies at the Headlands Center for the Arts, Barton College, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Gibbes Museum of Art, and was a visiting artist at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Her work is represented in the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University Rare Book Collection, and other private collections. Kirby has a dual degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Studio Art and Journalism and Mass Communication. Kirby serves her community on the Nasher Museum of Art's Friends Board at Duke University and as a member of the Scrap Exchange Board of Directors.
Presented in partnership with Stamps Gallery and Roman J. Witt Artist Residency Program. This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.