A Semester to Remember 😷!

Dear AUC Art Collective Community,

What a whirlwind semester this has been — full of meaning, connection, hope and possibility. We returned to the gorgeous, historic AUC campus in August and hit the ground running with events around Atlanta, soaking in art and culture, meeting new friends and learning about exciting career pathways from leaders in our industry. Destinations included SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film, the Atlanta Art Conservation Center, the High Museum of Art, the Trap Museum Museum, the Hammonds House Museum, Alfred Conteh's studio, Arnika Dawkins Gallery, the Westside Beltline Trail and our own CAU Art Museum. We welcomed a record number of first year Art History majors at Morehouse and Spelman (10), several of whom were the recipients of the First Year Art History Scholarship. Accomplishments were celebrated amongst students, faculty and staff, as you can learn about below, including fellowships, publications and more! We’re so proud of your dedication to your studies, to the field, to your peers and to transforming the art industry.

We’re happy to introduce our new Program Coordinator, Omolade Olubowale, who’s hard work and innovative ideas are already having an impact on our ability to connect with students and colleagues across the AUC — welcome Omolade!! Earlier this month, she spearheaded a successful High School Counselors’ Summit in support of our Early College Program for High School Students, which opens applications for summer 2022 on February 1st!

Throughout the semester, as busy as it was, we made sure to check in on one another through the thoughtfully paced Art Therapy sessions organized by Program Manager Rachel Brown (Spelman c’ 2010) and delivered compassionately and creatively by Deanna Barton (Spelman c’ 2009). As we bid farewell to the fall semester, we're looking forward to the spring!

Stay safe and stay tuned,

Dr. Cheryl Finley
Director and Distinguished Visiting Professor
Department of Art & Visual Culture, Spelman College

Ming Washington publishes two articles :

Art History major & Curatorial Studies minor, Ming Washington (Ming Joi) published two articles for Burnaway digital magazine, Chakaia Booker and Dalton Gata at ICA Miami and the mud at our feet at Swan Coach House, Atlanta.

Janiya Douglas wins a Creative Futures Grant:

Art History major & Curatorial Studies minor, Janiya Douglas will receive a $5,000 award and mentorship for her proposed project, Souf, a hub of Southern Black Intellectual Thought.

Ahmed Hussien awarded inaugural
Collective Futures Scholarship:

Economics major & Curatorial Studies minor, Ahmed Hussien has been awarded a full-tuition scholarship, valued annually at over $40,000 to pursue a Master's in Art Business at Sotheby's Institute of Art. Our partnership was announced last year.

Jade Foreman completes a public art project:

Art History major and artist, Jade Foreman's mural Meet Me in the Middle was selected, then collaboratively implemented and painted at Anthony Overton Elementary School in Chicago, IL. The project was supported by Creative Grounds, a community design platform for creative exchange and activations at closed public schools in Chicago. Watch the video below!

Program Director, Dr. Cheryl Finley and Spelman College alumna, Christian Reeder in artnet news:
The Recent Sale of Amy Sherald’s ‘Welfare Queen’ Symbolizes the Urgent Need for Resale Royalties and Economic Equity for Artists

Image credit: Amy Sherald, Welfare Queen , 2012.
Photo courtesy of Phillips [cropped]

Former Early College Program Teaching Assistant, Sadé Ayorinde
earns inaugural fellowship appointment:
Sadé Ayorinde Joins the American Folk Art Museum

Image credit: www.folkartmuseum.org

New Program Coordinator,
Omolade Olubowale joins the team:
A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Omolade’s involvement with cultural work began in 2016 as a Research Assistant focusing on oral histories at the Flight 93 National Memorial. This position prompted her minor in Museum Studies. Later, as a Community Research Fellow at the University, she investigated black students' engagement with visual arts.

Upon graduation, a Development internship at the Studio Museum in Harlem led to an Outreach Coordinator position at the Arts, Equity and Education Fund in Pittsburg, PA. More recently, at the Frist Art Museum, her work focused on models for sustainable internship experiences and other exhibition-based educational programs.

Bottom image: Omolade joins students on a visit to the Trap Music Museum on October 13th.

Please save-the-date for our Spring 2022 speakers!

Dr. Bridget Cooks will speak on February 9th and Zoé Whitley will join us on March 23rd. These lectures are free and open to the public.

Check out the recording of our Fall 2021 lecture with Thomas J. Lax, Curator of Media and Performance at the Museum of Modern Art, here.

Dr. Bridget R. Cooks
Associate Professor
School of Humanities
University of California, Irvine

Zoé Whitley
Curator & Director
Chisenhale Gallery, London

Students, please consider registering for the open courses below. The full course list and descriptions are on our website. Non-AUC students can read about ARCHE here.

The Summer 2022 program will run from June 18th – July 15th! Applications open on February 1st at aucartcollective.org.

The Summer 2022 program will begin in a few months!
Art History majors and Curatorial Studies minors must submit internship approval forms by February 4th using the online form.

Applications for the First Year Art History Scholarship and the Art History Scholarship are reviewed on a rolling basis. First-Year scholarship applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by April 15th. The application is open for Early Action / Early Decision applicants, here.

Sophomore, junior and senior scholarship applicants are strongly encouraged to apply or reapply by May 31st.

Want to request program materials for your students or colleagues? Request free program materials today!
We offer postcards, flyers and brochures:

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