About Janelle VanderKelen

Janelle VanderKelen is an artist, curator, and educator currently based in Knoxville, TN. Her films and ceramic sculptures imagine alternative acts of relation between imperfect bodies (human, vegetal, geological, or otherwise) and make visible the agency of plants.

VanderKelen’s work has been exhibited at institutions including the The Museum of Moving Image in New York; Anthology Film Archives in New York; and Bow Arts in London, England. Her films have screened at Ann Arbor Film Festival, True/False, Athens International Film + Video Festival, Revelation Perth International Film Festival, IC DOCS, San Diego Underground Film Festival, and Antimatter [Media Art] Film Festival.

Her current feature project, The Golden Thread, received funding from a 2025 Creative Capital Award. Other recent honors include juried awards at the 2023 Ann Arbor Film Festival, the 2023 Thomas Edison Film Festival, and the 2024 film+art vienna festival. VanderKelen was also a recipient of a 2023 Nohl Fellowship and 2023 MacDowell Residency.

Janelle co-curates a monthly non-profit screening series called aCinema with Taka Suzuki.