In 2021, The Chrysler Museum of Art, in partnership with the Hampton University Museum was awarded a $500,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The highly competitive grant aims to diversify the field of Curation and Conservation by conducting a three-year pilot fellowship program for two museum professionals. The curatorial fellow, Tashae Smith, and the conservation fellow, Angie Lopez, will examine the Chrysler Museum’s African Art collection and Hampton University Museum’s Harmon Foundation Modern African Art collection. Their work will demonstrate the ongoing importance of collecting, preserving, and studying non-Western art. During the second and third year of the program, one Hampton University undergraduate student will participate in a paid summer internship at the Chrysler Museum of Art.

The fellows will work under the mentorship of both institutions to curate two public exhibitions, originate a small catalog, and prioritize and conserve a group of objects from the collections.

They will also write for Hampton’s influential art journal, the International Review of African American Art (IRAAA), develop educational materials for educators, deliver several presentations to the public, and assist in the training of docents and volunteers. Through their work, the Chrysler’s African Art collection will benefit from research for new scholarship, while Hampton’s Harmon Foundation Modern African Art collection will gain more notoriety.

Both fellows will spend the first year of the program focused on Hampton University Museum’s Modern African Art collection, where they will identify 20–30 paintings for conservation and art historical scholarship. After one year of assessing the collection, the conservation fellow will treat select objects under the leadership of Mark Lewis, Conservator for Chrysler Museum of Art, and the curatorial fellow will focus on organizing two exhibitions. The curatorial fellow will also use artworks from both institutions to develop an education guide for educators, the general public, and docents. The fellows will devote the final year to researching the Chrysler Museum’s collection of African Art to identify works for further research and conservation. During the final year, they will serve as contributors to the International Review of African American Art.

Progress of this three-year fellowship can be followed through the blog, mellondiversifyingthefield.com, which the fellows will use to upload engaging articles on artists and artworks from the Harmon Foundation Modern African Art collection, treatments on the artworks, and their experience with working with Hampton’s Modern African Art collection and the Chrysler Museum’s African Art collection.

An article published in Volume 30 of the International Review of African American Art presents the results of a survey released in 2015 that uncovered a lack of diversity in the museum field, particularly in curatorial, conservation, and other leadership roles. According to the The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey, Whites occupy 84% of director, curator, conservator, and educator positions. Asians occupy 6% of those positions, while 4% of the positions are held by Blacks. Hispanic whites occupy 3% of the leadership roles.

Kimberli Gant and Vanessa Thaxton-Ward, creators of this pilot program and both women of color, hold more than 30 years of combined curatorial and research experience and have encountered challenges and triumphs in the field. They recognize the need for a fellowship such as this to nurture the next generation of museum professionals and look forward to research about the collection, interpretation, and language. The fellows’ work will result in a more comprehensive picture of art’s global history and have long-lasting impacts on the staff and visitors’ experience at both museums.

The current supervisors for the pilot program are:

“The Chrysler Museum is thrilled to partner with Hampton University Museum in this much-needed initiative to diversify the fields of curation and conservation. Working together, we wish to support emerging scholars by means of training, mentorship, and professional development, giving our Mellon Fellows the opportunity to dive deep into two rich collections of art that deserve to be in the spotlight.”
Carolyn Swan Needell, Ph.D
Barry Curator of Glass, Chrysler Museum of Art

“We are elated to receive funding from the Mellon Foundation. It is very exciting on many levels, and the Hampton University Museum is committed to working hand-in-hand with the Chrysler Museum of Art to increase diversity in the curatorial and conservation professions. We will draw upon the significant resources that have been developed at Hampton since 1868 and the Chrysler Museum of Art since 1933.”
Vanessa Thaxton-Ward, Ph.D
Director and Chief Curator, Hampton University Museum

“Conservation is all about preserving history and culture. Here in the conservation lab, we are all quite excited about this partnership with Hampton University Museum. This grant has provided the opportunity to help study and conserve their outstanding Harmon Foundation collection of Modern African Art and focus attention on the Chrysler Museum’s collection of traditional African artworks. This program will not only help train the next generation of conservators but it will also also foster dedication to increasing diversity within the museum field.”
Mark Lewis
Conservator, Chrysler Museum of Art

Meet the Fellows

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Tashae Smith

Curatorial Fellow

Curatorial Fellow

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Angie Lopez

Conservation Fellow

Conservation Fellow

About the Institutions

Chrysler Museum of Art

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The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of America’s most distinguished mid-sized art museums, with a nationally recognized collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America. The core of the Chrysler’s collection comes from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., an avid art collector who donated thousands of objects from his private collection to the Museum. The Museum has growing collections in many areas and mounts an ambitious schedule of visiting exhibitions and educational programs each season. The Chrysler has also been recognized nationally for its unique commitment to hospitality with its innovative gallery host program.

Hampton University Museum

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Founded in 1868, the Hampton University Museum is the oldest African American museum in the U.S., and one of the oldest museums in Virginia. Hampton’s collection consists of 10,000 objects including traditional art from Africa, Asia, Oceania, Native America, as well as African American art, such as works by Henry O. Tanner. The Harmon Foundation collection includes African American art, and an extensive collection of modern African art; 200+ paintings, prints and sculpture by more than 40 African artists. The modern African art includes Nigerian artists Ben Enwonwu, Akinola Laskean, and Bruce Onobrakpeya; South African artists Peter Clarke; Sudanese artist Ibrahim El-Salahi, and many others.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

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The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and we believe that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom to be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive.

Tashae Smith

Hello! I am Tashae Smith, the Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow. I am excited to begin this journey with you as we explore and document the Harmon Foundation Modern African Art collection located at Hampton University and the Traditional African Art collection located at the Chrysler Museum over the next three years. There is a great deal of information to share about the two collections but before we get there, I would like to share more information about myself.

After graduating high school, I made the decision to study history and museum studies in college in hopes of becoming a museum curator. I have always enjoyed learning history and grew up watching the History Channel for fun. I also loved museums and the information and ideas I could absorb from them. Of course, I also loved to share the information I learned with others. Before college, the information I obtained was often regurgitated to friends and family whether they wanted to hear it or not.

I entered Manhattanville College in 2013 with a major in History and a minor in Museum Studies. My time at Manhattanville College, under the guidance of the History department and African Studies Department, helped me to refine my research, writing and public speaking skills. I took many eye opening classes such as A Survey on African Art and The Nude: The Female Body Through Art. During my Sophomore year in college, I applied and received a historic preservation grant from the Open Space Institute. With the grant and support of countless people, including my mentor, Professor Colin Morris, I was able to complete almost two years of research to create a five site African American walking tour titled, “In Washington’s Shadow”. Each site tells the story of forgotten and lost aspects of Newburgh’s African American history. This grant allowed me to not only share this important history with my friends and family but with my community as well.

After graduating college in 2017, I started my museum career as the Education Coordinator for Hudson River Maritime Museum located in Kingston, New York. In 2018, I enrolled in the Cooperstown Graduate Program in order to receive my Master’s degree in Museum Studies. During this time, I was able to further my interest in curatorial work by interning with the Curatorial Department at the Baseball Hall of Fame located in Cooperstown, New York and interning at the American Civil War Museum located in Richmond, Virginia. At the American Civil War Museum, I worked within different departments to create a comprehensive exhibit proposal titled “Lost: Artistic Reflection on the Lost Cause”. The proposal focused on using objects in the collection and art based on these objects to discuss the lasting effects of the Lost Cause on our society today.

As the Mellon Curatorial Fellow, I will build upon my work of creating a walking tour and exhibit proposal by researching and utilizing the Harmon Modern African Art collection to create two exhibits. I look forward to this ground-breaking work in order to provide more insight into the collection and to further establish myself as a professional curator.

Angie Lopez

Hello! I am Angie Lopez, the Andrew W. Mellon Conservation Fellow. I am looking forward to working alongside Tashae to preserve the Harmon Foundation Modern African Art Collection and prepare the art for exhibition.

I was introduced to the field of conservation during high school as a part of the Felician University – Lodi High School Academy of Research and Advanced Academics. As part of the Academy I took an oil painting class, and fell in love with it. My interest in art history grew thanks to an inspiring class field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Ard Berge, Associate Professor in the Art department at Felician University. As a senior I was indecisive about which major to choose and shared these frustrations to Professor Berge. He recommended I look into the field of art conservation and apply to the undergraduate program at the University of Delaware.

I took his advice and the rest is history! I began my studies at UD as a double major in Art Conservation and Art History, adding a minor in Latin and Iberian studies along the way. As an undergraduate I participated in numerous conservation internships and jobs, including positions at Winterthur Museum and the Maryland Center for History and Culture. During this time I gained experience treating paintings, ceramics, photographs, and silver.

As a Summer Scholar at Winterthur Museum, I worked alongside fellow UD student, Sophie Zaidman, to create an educational program for children and their parents that connected to the museum’s collection and gardens. Outside of the classroom I expressed my passion for the field as an avid member of the Art Conservation Club on campus, and served as president during my senior year.

After graduating from UD in May 2023, I took part in a summer monuments conservation internship in New York City at Central Park. I was able to work on the park’s extensive collection of bronze sculptures, remove graffiti, operate and conduct maintenance on all fountains in the park, as well as pick up masonry skills, such as repointing. I participated in public outreach by interacting with park-goers, especially engaging with Spanish speaking individuals who expressed interest.

As the Mellon Conservation Fellow, I will build upon my work by conserving the Harmon Modern African Art collection so they last for years to come. It is an honor to be working alongside Tashae to bring these exhibitions to life and conduct this ground-breaking work.

Exploring Modern African Art

About the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship

Meet the Fellows

Tashae Smith

Angie Lopez

About the Institutions

Chrysler Museum of Art

Hampton University Museum

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation