Nina Baratti is a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at Harvard University. Her doctoral research investigates the relationship between music, ethnicity, and urban belonging in contemporary Angola through an ethnographic study of traditional musical instruments in Luanda, the country’s capital. Prior to Harvard, she obtained a degree in classical violin from Conservatorio A. Boito in Parma (2013) and earned a MA in musicology from the Università degli Studi di Milano (2016).
During her master’s studies, she participated in the Erasmus program at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, conducting fieldwork within Lisbon’s Afro-diasporic music scene. This research experience significantly shaped her interests in urban ethnomusicology, music and migration, and sound anthropology, with a particular focus on the Lusophone area.
Beyond academia, Nina is a dedicated cultural producer and activist, as well as an occasional musical performer. Over the past few years, she has collaborated with museums, art foundations and collectives throughout Europe and Africa, playing a key role in developing numerous projects in the social, artistic, and educational realms. Notably, she contributed significantly to the establishment of the Center for the Studies and Revalorization of Angolan Music (CERMA) in Luanda. Furthermore, she co-founded, alongside other researchers and artists, the association Quintal – Laboratory of Art and Participatory Research. Based in Italy, this association is primarily dedicated to fostering dialogue and cross-pollination between art and research, particularly in ethnomusicology and anthropology, through a participatory methodology.