Chrisoula Lionis

Chrisoula Lionis is a Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, working on the AHRC project Understanding Displacement Aesthetics. She holds a PhD in Visual Culture from UNSW Australia and has held international positions including a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship. Her research focuses on humor, cultural resilience, and visual culture in contexts of occupation and displacement. Lionis has authored influential books like Laughter in Occupied Palestine and edited Comedy in Crises, and curated exhibitions such as Traces of Displacement at the Whitworth Art Gallery.

Her expertise spans visual culture, postcolonial studies, and memory politics. Lionis has been affiliated with institutions like UNSW’s National Institute for Experimental Arts and Panteion University in Athens. She currently chairs exhibitions at Hunar Symposia and co-directs the pedagogical platform Artists for Artists.

Lionis’ work addresses humor’s role in socio-political resistance, with a focus on Palestinian art and cultural resilience. Her recent publications analyze humor in crises, contemporary art, and post-memory narratives. She has earned awards including the Marie Curie Fellowship and the Dean’s Award for Postgraduate Excellence.

Her research integrates artistic practices with academic inquiry, emphasizing interdisciplinary and decolonial methodologies. Collaborative projects like Laughing in an Emergency highlight her commitment to bridging theory and activism through humor studies.