Charmaine Nelson

Charmaine A. Nelson is an Adjunct Professor in Historical Studies at the University of New Brunswick (Fredericton) and a Provost Professor of Art History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She directs Slavery North, an initiative examining Canadian and Northern U.S. slavery. Previously, she held roles as a Tier I Canada Research Chair at NSCAD University (Halifax), launching the Institute for the Study of Canadian Slavery, and spent 17 years at McGill University (Montreal). Her work bridges art history and slavery studies, with a focus on visual culture, Black diasporic art, and community engagement.

Research expertise includes Visual Culture of Slavery, Race and Representation, and Creolization Theory. She has authored seven books, including The Color of Stone (2007) and Slavery, Geography, and Empire (2016). A media-engaged scholar, she contributed to BLK: An Origin Story (2022) and CBC’s Black Life: Untold Stories (2023).

• Awards: Royal Society of Canada Fellow (2022), American Antiquarian Society Member, multiple fellowships including Harvard’s Canadian Studies Chair.
• Media Impact: Over 300 lectures globally; frequent contributor to The Walrus, New York Times, and BBC.
• Public Engagement: Founded Black Maple Magazine (2022), evolving from blackcanadianstudies.com (2012).