Dr. Daniela Perez Montelongo

I’m an art historian focusing on the history of photography and modern art in the Global South. My approach to art history and visual culture adopts a global perspective with an emphasis on histories of cross-cultural encounters, colonialism and decolonial trajectories. Prior to joining KPU in 2025, I have taught art history at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Simon Fraser University and the University of Alberta. Besides developing survey courses on modern art with a global perspective, I also developed special topics courses on Indigenous and vernacular modernisms, and the history of photography in Africa.

I completed my PhD in Art History at the University of British Columbia. My doctoral studies were supported by multiple awards and fellowships, including the Dr James Caswell Memorial Fellowship. I hold a BA in Political Science from the Institut de Sciences Politiques, Paris, and an MA in Art History from the Université of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. The international and multi-disciplinary nature of my training, as well as my multi-cultural background has shaped and continues to inform my approach to both mentorship and research. 

I also have experience working in museums, contemporary art galleries and private collections. In my teaching, I incorporate lessons I have learned from my time in the international art world, including perspectives on curating, caring for collections and public programming.

My research intersects the fields of photography, landscape theory and modernism. My doctoral work investigated landscape photography as a distinct avenue for the critique of both colonial depictions of the African landscape and apartheid’s regime of visuality. 

My work has been published in exhibition catalogues, most recently in the Journal of Southern African Studies. I have presented my work internationally, in Oaxaca, Mexico, at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, at the Photographer’s Gallery in London and at the Universities Art Association of Canada Conference.