Profile
Tiako Djomatchoua Murielle Sandra is a doctoral candidate at Princeton University whose research examines the intersection of Central African arts, heritages, traditions, institutions, memory, and legacy through the lens of female architectures of power and powerlessness. Her primary focus lies in exploring the intricate interplay of power, memory, gender, and change within the context of Luba societies. Currently, Tiako Djomatchoua is a Linked Data in Art History Scholar at the Getty Research Institute and an Elinor Ostrom Fellow at George Mason University.
As a FRAME Fellow at the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA) in France, Tiako Djomatchoua contributed to reconstructing the intangible memory of African artifacts showcased at the 1966 World Negro Arts Festival in Dakar. As an Academie des Traces Fellow, Tiako Djomatchoua developed a deep understanding of the complex issues surrounding colonial collections, gaining valuable experience in ethically and culturally sensitive practices. This included expertise in provenance research, community engagement, repatriation, restitution, public history, and the critical importance of source community perspectives and local knowledge production systems. These experiences laid the foundation for her current doctoral research, which delves into the feminine archaeologies of power and powerlessness in Central Africa.
In 2023, Tiako Djomatchoua joined the MNAA (Making North American African Art Collections Accessible and Visible), now MUSAA (Making United States African Art Collections Accessible and Visible), a subcommittee of the CCRBP (Criteria and Parameters for Objects Subject to Potential Collaboration, Restitution, and Repatriation) of ACASA (Arts Council of the African Studies Association). This engagement marked the beginning of her involvement in broader discussions around the impact and damage of colonial contacts on African traditions, worldviews, and identities, as well as the urgent need for the intangible restoration and revitalization of Central African cultures both domestically and internationally.
During the 2024–2025 academic year, Tiako Djomatchoua will hold an international scholar position at the Catholic University of Leuven, in Belgium. This opportunity will allow her to deepen her archival research. In addition, she was awarded the prestigious William H. and Kathryn E. Brackney Angus Travel Bursary for 2024-2025 to conduct archival research at the Angus Library and Archive, Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford. This research will further enrich her doctoral thesis, which employs interdisciplinary methodologies.
Her research interests span colonial and post-colonial studies, Black diaspora studies, French and francophone cinema, oratures, performance, and music, as well as museum studies, gender, digital humanities, and African religions.