Desirée de Jesús is an artist-scholar who examines Black girls’ agency and self-definition through videographic criticism, community-based curatorial and filmmaking practices, and experimental engagements with public records documenting police violence.

Her research has appeared in the Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Screenworks, [in]Transition, Galerie FOFA Gallery, the TIFF Lightbox, and The Black Arts Centre.

She is an assistant professor of Communication and Media Studies at York University. She teaches courses on comedy and social change, girlhood media cultures, and how media helps us make sense of ourselves, others, and the world.

She supported the development of the GAMERella podcast and the satellite game jam guide and previously co-organized the GAMERella game jam.

de Jesús has been a video essayist for Side Eye Cinema since 2017.

Photograph by Summer Grenyion-Smith