Christopher Harris

Who is Christopher Harris?

Christopher Harris is an American film artist who was born in 1962 in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his BA in film from Webster University in 1997 and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000. Harris is Professor of Visual Arts at Princeton University.

What are some of the defining characteristics of Harris’ artistic practice?

Harris’ artistic practice hinges on the dialectical tension that exists in mainstream portrayals of Black culture and persons and the discrepancy between Western perceptions of the same and the authentic experiences that inform them. Harris rejects the application of documentary filmmaking practices, opting instead to subject distorted Western preconceptions of Black people and cultural artefacts to intense subversive scrutiny, which deconstructs these ossified hegemonic notions.

Instrumental to the realization of Harris’ cinematic vision is his use of analog filmmaking methods to exploit the imperfections and imprecisions inherent in celluloid film. Harris’ application of such techniques in his films underscores the distorted conception of Black culture and persons that prevails in mainstream Western productions. The incongruities that emerge uncover multiple pasts and present possibilities, shed light on the complexities and paradoxes of the Black experience in the United States and the broader African diaspora, and shatter the rationalizing tendencies and circumscribed spaces typical of capitalism's visual culture regime.

Where have works by Christopher Harris been exhibited?

Christopher Harris’ artistic career spans more than two decades, during which he has established a reputation on the international art scene through a series of solo and group exhibitions and screenings at major institutions and festivals. His first work, the film still/here premiered in 2001 at the Webster University Film Series. This was followed by a series of solo exhibitions and curated screenings in the early 2000s at major regional hubs such as the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago and the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio.

In the next decade Harris' work was shown at Arsenal Filminstitut in Berlin, Images Festival in Toronto, and Encontro de Cinema Negro in Rio de Janeiro. A 2K digital restoration of his film still/here premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York 2022, while the 16mm restoration print premiered at the Whitney Biennial 2024 in New York in . Solo screenings of his films have also been held at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, True/False Film Festival, Tate Modern in London, and the Brakhage Center Symposium. Group screenings were held at New York Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Edinburgh International Film Festival, amongst many others.

What awards and recognitions has Christopher Harris received?

Recognition for Christopher Harris’ subversive cinematic exploration of Black experiences and culture has been ample, including the Creative Capital Award (2015), Ground Glass Award (2022), Herb Alpert Award in the Arts for film/video (2023), United States Artists Fellowship (2025), and John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2026).

His creative work has been supported through a series of grants and fellowships that emphasize his contributions to experimental cinema. Some of these include: Wexner Artist Residency Award 2019-2020; Chrysalis Fellowship at Media City Film Festival 2019-2022; Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard University 2020-2021; and the Andrew Mellon Collaborative Fellowship 2023-2024.

What projects are Christopher Harris involved in?

Harris most recently had a solo exhibition at The Recovery Plan in Florence in 2026. This research exhibition was based on his work-in-progress film God Bless the Child, an autobiographical essay. Harris has presented this project as a performance lecture on numerous occasions, including at Microscope Gallery in New York in 2024, Barbican Centre in London in 2025 and Videoex in Zurich in 2025.

Harris has been serving as Professor of Visual Arts at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University since 2024. Prior to his move to Princeton, he taught at the University of Iowa as the F. Wendell Miller Associate Professor in film and video production. Harris is scheduled to take a sabbatical in Spring 2027, during which he will be engaged in the production of his forthcoming film God Bless the Child.

Where can I find more information about Christopher Harris?

Information on Harris' academic work and other activities can be accessed on his Princeton University faculty page. He maintains a social media presence through his Instagram account. Harris' works are distributed through Light Cone and Video Data Bank.