Kara Mshinda (she/her) is a visual anthropologist and interdisciplinary artist whose practice explores identity, memory, and embodiment through photo-based artworks. She employs collage, collaborative portraiture, and alternative photographic processes to document urban environments and social encounters, with her current project All Hands Hold, investigating identity expression through instant film photography.

Professor Mshinda holds a Master of Arts in Anthropology with a specialization in Visual Communication from Temple University and currently serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, where she teaches "Race, Identity, and Experience in American Art." Her ethnographic approach bridges her anthropological training with her artistic practice, offering students unique insights into visual culture analysis.

Beyond the classroom, Mshinda maintains an active exhibition record with recent shows at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Fleisher Art Memorial, and international venues including Schau Fenster in Berlin and LaNao Galería in Mexico City. She is a 2024 recipient of the Philadelphia Fellowship for Black Artists from Mural Arts Philadelphia and serves as Fellowship Director at Da Vinci Art Alliance. Professor Mshinda is also Assistant Network Director at Tiger Strikes Asteroid Philadelphia and Principal Collaborator at GrioXArts studio, where she focuses on building community through process-based art education. Her professional experience includes roles as a Program Facilitator at the Museum of the American Revolution and as an Ethnographer at Drexel University College of Medicine, informing her interdisciplinary approach to teaching and art-making.