Nahum Studios & KOSMICA Institute
Nahum Romero Zamora
- Berlin Science Week
- 2024
b. 1979, Navel of the Moon (Mexico City)
Lives and works in Berlin
Nahum is an artist and musician. His works craft unconventional perspectives and narratives to evoke wonder and deepen our understanding of cosmic existence. In his oeuvre, Nahum orchestrates a diverse array of media, including performance, installation, video, music, painting, and storytelling. Nahum frequently incorporates space technologies, illusionism, and hypnosis to transport audiences on otherworldly journeys that spark critical dialogues about existencehood.
In 2011, Nahum founded the KOSMICA Institute, a space organisation with a mission to create a platform for critical, cultural, and poetic discourse about our relationship to the Universe, space activities, and their impact on Earth. The Institute develops initiatives that bridge the arts and humanities, the space sector, and broader society.
His work has been internationally exhibited at prestigious venues, including the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Germany; The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Southbank Centre, The British Library, and FACT Liverpool in the UK; Garage Museum and Polytechnic Museum in Moscow, Russia; Galerija Kapelica in Ljubljana and Kiblix Slovenia; Ars Electronica in Linz, Switzerland; SESC in São Paulo and Casa Firjan in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California, Rubin Center in El Paso, Texas, and the Chicago Architecture Biennial in the USA; Bonniers Konsthall in Stockholm, Sweden; National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung, Taiwan; Hong Kong Arts Centre; Laboratorio Arte Alameda, Museo Jumex, and Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City; and Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Jalisco in Mexico.
From 2008 to 2011, Nahum curated the arts and performance cult venue Shunt Vaults in London. In 2015, he curated the digital art biennial TransitioMx in Mexico City. From 2016 to 2019, he was a fellow of the National System of Art Creators, part of the National Fund for Culture and Arts in Mexico. In 2022, he served as the co-curator of Tour de Moon, a festival that took place in 12 cities across the United Kingdom.
Nahum served as the chairman of the Committee for the Cultural Utilisation of Space (ITACCUS) at the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) in Paris. He was the first artist to receive the Young Space Leader award in 2014 and the Karman Fellowship in 2021, recognising his cultural contributions to astronautics and space activities. Additionally, he has designed space missions for artistic purposes in collaboration with the European Space Agency, SpaceX, NASA, and Roscosmos. He is a member of the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network and serves on the board of SpaceEU, an initiative that advocates for a more inclusive space community in Europe.
Since 2019, Nahum has been a Faculty Member at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. He has given lectures at prestigious universities such as Boston University, Central Saint Martins, Tec de Monterrey, the Academy of Arts and Design in Karlsruhe, and the University of the Underground. He has been published by Penguin Books and Bloomsbury Publishing.
Nahum earned a B.Sc. in Computer Science at Tec de Monterrey in Mexico City and completed a Master of Arts degree with honours at Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2008. In 2016, he completed the Space Studies Programme at the International Space University in both Strasbourg, France, and Haifa, Israel.