Celia Vara
2018 Ph.D. in Communication Studies. Concordia University, Montreal, QC,Canada.
2009 Master Degree Equality and Gender, University Jaume I Castellon (Spain)
1997 Bachelor in Philosophy and Sciences of Education – Psychology. University of Murcia (Spain)
Celia Vara holds a Ph.D. in Communication (2018) at Concordia University (QC, Canada). She is a psychologist and has been working since 1998 in a pioneering research and treatment centre on gender violence. She has participated in numerous researches and projects on feminism and art in Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. Her master thesis (“Feminist Video Art in the 70’s in Spain”) won in 2013 the 1st Prize-Award in Gender and Research by Jaume I University in Spain. She is a visual artist and curator and has had numerous residencies and individual and collective exhibitions in Dominican Republic, Canada, Cuba and Spain. Her writings and media work have appeared in Journal feralfeminisms, Institute for Women and Art Directory-Rutgers University, Feminizine. Arte y Políticas de Identidad, and McGraw Hill Editorial. Her research interests include performance, contemporary art, experimental and social movement media from a feminist perspective. Her doctoral thesis draws from kinesthetic experience to explore performance as a possibility for self-exploration and feminist liberation contributing to the understanding of performance and body art outside of the American feminist context and implementing a creative and feminist embodied methodology (Fina Miralles’ Relacions: Kinesthetic Knowledge and Corporeal Agency, 2018).
PhD Thesis:
2019
Thesis: Fina Miralles’ Relacions: Kinesthetic Knowledge and Corporeal Agency https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/984673/
Teaching, workshops:
2020
Final Thesis Master Supervisor (Valencia International University).
Master Equality and Gender, University Jaume I (Spain) (2011-now) Women and Art. (2011-2014), SRM007 Gender and Media (2014-2020)
2018
Feminisms and Art in Latin American and Spain in 1970s, Centro Cultural de España, Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) https://ccesd.org/formacion/arte-y-feminismo-en-espana-y-latinoamerica-en-los-anos-70
2017
COMS368 Media and Gender – Department of Communication Studies – Concordia University (QC, Canada)
2014-6
COMS304K/2 Selected Topics in Film Studies – Communication Media and Special Effects. History, Aesthetics and Evolving Technologies (Fall 2016)
COMS435 Advanced Topics in Documentary, Film and video (Winter 2016)
COMS493 Advanced Topics: Video III (Fall 2015)
COMS210. Media Criticism (Fall 2014) Concordia University (QC, Canada)
Curation:
2018
Les recerques de Fina Miralles [Fina Miralles’ Search], Centro Cultural de España, Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) https://ccesd.org/exposiciones/les-recerques-de-fina-miralles-super-8-film-1973-1976
2017
Fina Miralles: “I create new spaces, I build paths, I walk through them” (1973-1976). Feminist Media Studio. Concordia University, (QC, Canada). http://feministmediastudio.ca/events/fina-miralles/
2008
Women with history. Photography. Equality Resources Center, Murcia (Spain)
2007
They create. Art made by women and Women and Sports and The Feminine Vote, Equality Resources Center, Murcia (Spain)
2007
Mujeres desplazadas por la guerra de Colombia. [Women displaced by war in Colombia]. Photography. Atelier ONG, Valencia (Spain)
Books:
1998 (to 2012)
11 co-publications – Assesment of Psychosocial Manifestations of Gender Violence. Women 24 Hours Centre. Gender Area. Department of Social Welfare. Generalitat Valenciana. 1998– ISBN 84-482-2254-7; 1999- ISBN 84-482-2872-3; 2000- ISBN 84-482-3570-3; 2001- ISBN84-482-3971-7; 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012 pending publication.
Books chapters:
2019
Fina Miralles: Partituras Corporales in M. Lluïsa Faxedas (ed.) Contagis. Sobre l’obra de Fina Miralles. Documenta Universitaria (Girona).
2015
“Los inicios del video arte feminista en los años setenta en España: contexto social y artístico, el cuerpo en el video y una aproximación a la definición de video arte feminista”. Investigació i Génere a la Universitat Jaume I. Col.lecció Humanitats, Unitat d’Igualtat, Universitat Jaume I. ISBN: 978-84-154444-72-5.
2014
“Los inicios del video feminista”, in Nuevas Culturas y sus Nuevas Lecturas. Edited by José Rodríguez Terceño, Antonio Rafael Fernández Paradas. Ed. McGraw Hill. ISBN: 978-84-481-9740-7. Pages: 679-693.
Articles:
2019
“Dona-Arbre (1973) by Fina Miralles (1950, Catalonia): Gleaning Corporeal Knowledge” Arte y Políticas de Identidad. Volumen 21. December 2019. ISSN 1889-979X.
2012
“Los inicios del video arte feminista en los años 70” FEMINIZINE Dep. Legal SA-230-2012. ISSN 2254-2957
Media works and video performance:
2019
Pilot video for a documentary: Fina Miralles: Embodied Stories at Poetics and Politics (University of Santa Cruz) https://vimeo.com/336108068
2015
“Violeta Esperanza” (video performance) feral feminisms.com Toronto (Canada) ISSN 2292 – 146X http://feralfeminisms.com/violeta-esperanza/
2015
Tripas de corazón https://vimeo.com/264432199
Institute for Women and Art Directory: RUTGERS, The State University of New Jersey http://iwa.rutgers.edu/programs/momentum/directory/list/#V
2013
Violeta Esperanza https://vimeo.com/60551161
Educational Material:
2006
Good Practice Manual: Programa de formación en Género y Desarrollo. Agencia Española de Cooperación al Desarrollo (AECID) OTC República Dominicana. Systematization (theories, dynamic process and results) of training workshops on gender, equality and development with AECID staff.
2020
Co-authour (Gámez Fuentes, MJ and Vara, C.) Educational Material for the course SRM007 Gender and Media (Master Equality and Gender, University Jaume I, Castellón, Spain)
