Lara Stein Pardo’s artwork, research, and writing revolve around themes of space and place and the complexities involved in people’s negotiation of the socio-geographic world. Born in Miami, Stein Pardo earned her BA in Ethnic Studies and Studio Art from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and her MA in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Currently, she is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology at the University of Michigan and a Fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum with affiliations at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Stein Pardo’s dissertation addresses issues of race, class, gender, and national origin in the politics of contemporary art production, and considers the topic of diaspora aesthetics in relation to the conceptualizations of “Caribbean-ness.” She has presented her research nationally and internationally at various conferences including the American Anthropological Association, Caribbean Studies Association, and the Global Caribbeans Conference. Her artwork includes photography, installation, performance, and short film highlighting social issues such as immigration policies and the connection between body and place. Exhibitions of her work include Four Minutes, Thirty-Three Seconds in Miami (2011), Forever Forged. Forever Becoming in London (2011), Race in Ann Arbor (2009), and Tracked: A Performance Installation in Miami Beach (2006). Stein Pardo’s work has garnered support from grants and residencies including the Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Deering Estate at Cutler Bay, Arts of Citizenship, Imagining America, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.