Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellows

Jenna-Leigh Di Nardo

Originally from Hamilton, ON, Jenna is a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Lynn Fels in Arts Education at Simon Fraser University. An alumnus of The Dance Centre and the Theatre Aquarius Performing Arts Program, Jenna holds a BA (Honours) in Drama from the University of Windsor, and a BEd with a specialization in Artist-in-Community Education and an MEd (with thesis), both from Queen’s University. She completed an internship at the former Lincoln Center Institute for Arts in Education while Maxine Greene was Philosopher-in-Residence.

Her current artistic and research focus is designing and implementing theatre encounters as informed by the philosophy of Maxine Greene, in collaboration with law students to enhance their understanding of performance in the courtroom.

Jenna is thankful to live, work and study on the unceded and traditional Coast Salish Territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations.

Yani Kong

Yani Kong is a Vancouver based visual culture scholar researching the concept of the disenchantment of the world and the possibilities for art and other visual phenomena to stimulate forms of re-enchantment.  Her previous studies have explored this concept in examinations of 19th century photography and the cultural history of American Spiritualism. New work from Kong seeks to politicize the notion of re-enchantment and turn it toward art made after 9/11 and the war on terror. Yani holds a Masters in Theory, Culture, and Politics from Trent University, and is an alumna of SFU SCA with a BA in Art and Culture Studies.  She is completing a PhD in the School for the Contemporary Arts at SFU.   

Areas: Critical Theory, Philosophy, Art History, Visual Culture, Cultural Studies

Christopher Lacroix

Christopher Lacroix’s practice is concerned with the potential of various mediums to embody a queerness that reconfigures relationships through action. His doctoral research will focus on queer phenomenological approaches to performance documentation, queer narratives, and queer identification. He holds a BFA in Photography from Toronto Metropolitan University and an MFA from the University of British Columbia. Lacroix received the 2018 Lind Prize and was long-listed for the 2021 Scotiabank New Generation Photography Award. His work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council and Social Science and Humanities Research Council. Recent solo exhibitions include Alternator Centre for Contemporary Arts (Kelowna), The Polygon Gallery (North Vancouver), and Modern Fuel (Kingston). Lacroix lives and works in Vancouver, located on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and is completing his PhD in the School for the Contemporary Arts at SFU.