Lisa Gilman

Overview

Dr. Lisa Gilman is a prominent American professor of folklore, anthropology, and English at George Mason University (Fairfax, Virginia). She is a leading academic researcher and cultural advocate who co-founded the Dzaleka Art Project, an collaborative initiative between camp-based refugee artists and international researchers.

Dr. Gilman’s extensive field research in Malawi focuses on how displaced individuals utilise folklore, music, dance, theater, and visual art as mechanisms for self-definition, trauma recovery, economic survival, and political voice.

Key Initiatives & Contributions

1. Co-Founding the Dzaleka Art Project

Working closely with refugee community leaders, youth writers, painters, and dancers, Dr. Gilman co-created the Dzaleka Art Project (dzalekaartproject.com). The initiative provides:

• Digital Artist Profiles: Archiving biographies, portfolios, and audio-visual recordings of painters, sculptors, acrobats, and musicians living in Dzaleka.
• Exhibitions & Public Education: Bringing Dzaleka refugee art to academic conferences, museum galleries, and university exhibitions in North America and Europe.
• Collaborative Book Project: Co-authoring a comprehensive book manuscript featuring first-person narratives and artwork produced by Dzaleka-based creators.

2. Scholarly Research on Performance and Encampment

Dr. Gilman has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals of folklore and African studies, documenting:

• Dance and Empowerment: Analysing dance groups like Salama Africa and Burundian traditional ensembles as sites of community resilience.
• Refugee Material Culture: Documenting how artists adapt recycled materials, scrap metal, and local clays into fine art inside Dzaleka.

Legacy

Dr. Gilman’s collaborative approach to research emphasises ethical representation, co-authorship with refugee partners, and direct economic support for artists living in protracted displacement.