Graduate students are integral to the scholarly community within the Art History Department at Virginia Commonwealth University. As members of the Art History Graduate Student Association (AHGSA), they engage with visiting guest speakers, attend professional development workshops, and organize social events, like the annual trip to New York City. These events support the growth of professional relationships among graduate students, faculty, alumni, museum staff, and colleagues across different institutions and disciplines. Officers of the AHGSA are elected annually.

Second-Year MA Students

  • Research Interests: Art of the African Diaspora, African American Identity and Culture
  • Education: BS University of South Carolina, Fashion Mechandising and Digital Innovation
  • After graduating from USC, Dionah began her experience in the museum world. She had the opportunity to take part in many hands-on curatorial and exhibition projects at galleries and museums in Charleston, sparking her ongoing interest in the visual arts. After interning at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art and working at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, she developed a particular interest in the work of artists and communtities underrepresented in art historiography and museums. She currently works part-time as a Visitor Services Associate for the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC.

  • Research Interests: Oceanic Art, Queer and Activist Art
  • Education: BFA Virginia Commonwealth University, Cinema
  • Julia has had a lifelong passion for art and history. Her research focuses on identity, intersectionality, and the arts of Oceania. Her other interests are gender, sexuality, Indigenous cultures, as well as activist art, 20th century photography, and queer art.

  • Research Interests: African American Art, Photography
  • Education: BA, Virginia Commonwealth University, English
  • Lauryn found an unexpected love for art history after taking on a minor in the department in her junior year. Lauryn’s focus is primarily African American art, specifically photography and portraits of the 19th century.  She’s largely interested in dismantling the Western canon in museums and exploring their engagement with non-European art. Lauryn also has a background in photography.

  • Research Interests: Postmodern Art, Visual Culture, Late American Modernism
  • Education: Virginia Commonwealth University, Art History (2024)
  • Cameron’s passion for Art History began with undergraduate studies at VCU, which led her to the 4+1 accelerated program in Art History. She has worked as an intern at the Rosewell Foundation I researching the names of all who were enslaved there for use in the primary exhibition in the Foundation’s gallery. She has recently enjoyed exploring intermedia art, installation art, and the intersection of art and visual culture.

  • Research Interests: Global Modernisms
  • Education: BA, Virginia Commonwealth University, Art History
  • Alongisde her major in Art History, Drew minored in sociology. She tries to bring her background in sociology to her art historical research through investigations around transcultural forms of identity as well as representations of memory, and their role in developing global modernisms. Drew is also interested in the reciprocal interchange between individual and socio- cultural factors that exists within society. Such factors include gender, race, sexuality, political contexts, and cultural practices. In this analysis Drew aims to bring attention to artists and movements that have historically been overlooked and misrepresented. In her free time Drew enjoys cooking, reading, drawing/painting, watching scary movies, hiking, and kayaking.

  • Research Interests: Art of the Ancient Mediterranean
  • Education: BA William & Mary, Classical Archaeology
  • After earning her bachelor’s degree and studying at the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, Emily turned to museum studies at VCU to continue exploring art history. Her research is on art of the ancient Mediterranean including Greece, Rome, and Egypt, focusing on identities that are often overlooked in these areas. She is also passionate about the accessibility of art and museums. In her free time, she enjoys prop building and sewing.

  • Research Interests: 19 th and 20 th Century Photography
  • Education: BA, Virginia Commonwealth University, Art History
  • Kristen’s journey in art history began in community college before transferring to VCU. Her research focuses on a Foucauldian approach to 19th and 20th-century photography. She wants to understand how certain photographs came into being and what world allowed them to exist. Dealing with the depictions of women of color in photographs, especially black women, Kristen is interested in understanding how powerful images can shape someone’s perception of another. When not studying or working, Kristen enjoys walking every day, playing RPGs, cosplaying, and writing comics.

  • Research Interests: Craft and Craft History, Women’s Art
  • Education: BA University of Richmond, English and Fine Art
  • Sarah is an artist turned art historian whose research heavily features women artists, craft and textiles. Coming from an undergraduate career at the University of Richmond, Sarah is focused now on museums. Outside of her research on craft and women’s art, she also has interests in museum ethics, education, and theatre. Her personal hobbies include embroidery, costume design, and poetry.

First Year MA Students

  • Research Interests: Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora
  • Education: BA Georgia State University, Art History
  • Indya’s research investigates contemporary artists who present water as a technology of survival
    in their work. Through a cross-disciplinary approach, she combines folk mythology, historical
    accounts, and speculative fiction to explore how water permeates artistic production as a symbol
    of renewal and rejuvenation. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, hiking, and exploring different
    artistic mediums.

  • Research Interests: Contemporary African Diasporic Art, African American Identity and Culture
  • Education: BA Virginia Commonwealth University, Art History
  • Sanija’s passion for storytelling has been a lifelong journey, beginning early on in life and evolving into a deeply rooted interest in curating art that reflects narratives of identity, culture, and heritage. Her research is primarily focused on contemporary African American and Afro-Caribbean art, which acts as a catalyst for her goal of amplifying underrepresented voices in the global art scene – a passion that continues to shape her curatorial aspirations.

  • Research Interests: Global Modernisms, Propaganda, Censorship, Advertisement
  • Education: BA Randolph-Macon College, Art History & Arts Management
  • After doing a brief stint studying Computer Science, Grace switched their undergraduate major to focus on their passion for art and history after waking up in a cold sweat about their life choices. Since then, they have been a recipient of the Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship, the culmination of which was presented at SECAC 2022, and an educational programming intern at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Currently, Grace is interested in the visual construction of marginalized identities in fine art and media, particularly in the early to mid-20th century, and its socio-political potentialities. When not studying or working, Grace enjoys reading and writing, watching films, drawing, and crocheting ugly stuff.

  • Research Interests: Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, the long Nineteenth-Century in Europe
  • Education: BA Williams College, Art History and Anthropology
  • Charlotte’s research interests lie in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican art with a focus on the Maya cultures. Currently, her work attempts to track the movement of Maya objects and aesthetics into Europe and the United States during the long nineteenth-century as well as artistic responses to this newly introduced material culture. Charlotte had a four-year internship in the education department at the Clark Art Institute at Williams College that led to a desire to improve communication between academic communities and the public. She aims to carry this into a future in museum curation.

  • Research Interests: Fiber Arts and the Intersections between Arts and Craft
  • Education: BA Virginia Commonwealth University, Art History
  • Hayley Secrist’s (she/they) research interests focus on fiber-related mediums primarily involving art forms such as quilting, knitting, crochet, weaving, etc., and their development and categorization as both craft and art. She works to challenge these distinctions and their intersections particularly as they relate to gender, race, sexuality, and class. This involves a particular interest in the role of fiber arts and the study of it as a tool for political activism, and breaking down hierarchies in both art and society.

  • Research Interests: 20th & 21st Century Advertising, Visual and Print Culture
  • Education: BA Virginia Commonwealth University, Art History and English with a minor in
    History
  • While pursuing her undergraduate studies at VCU, Evelyn decided to continue her passion for
    museums through VCU’s 4+1 Accelerated Program in Art History. Her research centers around cosmetic advertising, paper crafts, and analyzing the relationship between art and print culture. After taking part in projects at the Chesterfield Historical Society and the Poe Museum, Evelyn aims to become further involved in collections management and increase the accessibility of historical research and artifacts. When she isn’t working or studying, Evelyn enjoys photography, writing, and playing the guitar.

 

  • Research Interests: Contemporary, Digital, and New Media Art and Online Visual Culture
  • Education: BFA, University of Florida, Art + Technology
  • John’s research looks at contemporary, digital, and new media art and online visual culture. His
    current research focuses on critiquing issues of technocapitalism, media ecosystems, and human-
    computer interactions. John has previously served as the Technical Director of the artist-run space, Moisturizer Gallery, where he helped support and exhibit contemporary artists working in experimental ideas and forms. Since then, he has continued pursuing independent curatorial
    projects across traditional and experimental exhibition sites. In addition to his academic and curatorial work, he is also a research-based artist whose work has been exhibited internationally
    across America and Asia.