Dr. Abigail Celis

Biography

Abigail E. Celis is an Assistant Professor of Decolonial Art History and Museum Studies at the Université de Montréal. She specializes in informed feminist diaspora studies, focusing on the artistic and literary production of Afro-descendants and postcolonial migrants in France, including issues of belonging, embodiment, and the presentation of Francophone African and Afro-diasporic artistic literary works. Her current research project, "Reprisal Refusal: Looking Unsettled Black French Francophone African Arts Literature," examines the intricate socio-cultural dynamics of these productions. Celis's scholarly works have been published in several international journals, including African Arts and French Studies, and she has engaged in curatorial projects that highlight contemporary voices within African and diasporic arts. She previously held the Marian Trygve Freed Early Career Professorship in French Francophone Studies at Penn State University from 2019 to 2021, where she received notable fellowships from the Ford Foundation and Camargo Foundation. As a recognized scholar, she has received several awards including the FRQSC Louise-Dandurand Prize for outstanding French-language publication and the 11th Annual Lawrence R. Schehr Memorial Award for her contributions to contemporary French civilization studies. Celis's research interests extend to cultural studies, museology, and the historical engagement of Afro-descendant artists in France and their impact on cultural institutions.

Research Interests