Fabiola Palacios (she/her) is a first year PhD student in Art History, specializing in Latin American modern and contemporary art, with a focus on Central American video art by women artists. Her research interests include new media, digital art, cultural and film studies, affect theory, and gender studies.

She holds both Bachelor’s and Licentiate degrees in Social Work and Art History from the University of Costa Rica (UCR). Before beginning her doctoral studies, she worked in the Collections Department of the Museums of the Central Bank of Costa Rica and as a research assistant on curatorial projects at the Museum of Costa Rican Art.

Her licentiate thesis in Social Work, “Hip Hop in Costa Rica: Discourses, Practices, and Tensions,” traces the genre’s emergence and evolution between 1980 and 2000, examining its cultural narratives, community practices, and internal debates. Her Art History licentiate thesis, “Power, Images and Affects: A Study of Artwork by Eight Costa Rican Women Artists (1980–2010),” applies an affect-theoretical lens to analyze how a group of women artists reflects on gender, power, and violence.

Her publications include the article “Notes on the History and Development of Hip Hop in Costa Rica” (2021), published in Revista Rupturas by the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) from Costa Rica. She also coauthored the chapter “De las ruinas del Bronx a las ruinas de Esquipulas. Cultura hip hop e integración desde abajo en la América del Centro” (2022) with Professor César Villegas, in the edited volume Historia, actualidad y cuestionamientos sobre la región centroamericana en su Bicentenario, published by Edições EACH, University of São Paulo.

BA Social Work, University of Costa Rica, 2016.
Licentiate in Social Work, University of Costa Rica, 2020
BA Art History, University of Costa Rica, 2021. 
Licentiate in Art History, University of Costa Rica, 2025