Meet our 2023-24 Makeba Clay Diversity Fellow. As part of our institutional values and commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, the Makeba Clay Diversity Fellowship builds on and adds to the research and critical thinking about the museum’s history, including the philosophical underpinnings and aesthetic vision of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips. Sophie Bennett is enrolled at Georgetown University’s master’s program for Art and Museum Studies.

Sophie Bennett

Why are you interested in working at a museum?

I feel tremendously indebted to art museums for fostering my early interest in art history. I started to gravitate toward the arts in middle school. If it wasn’t for museums, I would not have been able to develop that interest or pursue a career in the arts. It is very easy to brush off a young person who doesn’t know much; and yet, throughout various moments in my life, people from all professions in the museum world—museum educators, curators, guards, conservators—have engaged me in conversations about their work and generously shared their perspectives. With art currently being such a massive part of my day-to-day experience, I would love to be one of those museum individuals who can lead others to a lifelong relationship with fine art.

What brought you to The Phillips Collection?

I am from the DC area and always loved visiting The Phillips Collection. I had kept an eye on opportunities within the institution for a few years, and this year the stars finally aligned in terms of where I was in my education, my interests in the art world, and what fellowships were available.

Please tell us about the projects that you will be working on during your fellowship. What do you hope to accomplish during your fellowship?

This year, I will be working with both Chief Curator Elsa Smithgall and the Horning Chair for Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion Dr. Yuma Tomes. One of the primary projects I am focusing on is the Institutional History Project, wherein fellows research The Phillips Collection’s history through the lens of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. Many primary sources discuss how Duncan Phillips’s vision for the museum was innovative and forward-thinking; I would like to go back and assess whether his innovation was limited to the realm of the arts, or if he was also ahead of his time in terms of how he approached issues of inclusion and equity.

What is your favorite painting/artist here?

I really love the work of Alma Thomas. Her use of color is so striking, and her work is a real testament to the existence of a rich art scene in DC, a city that so many reduce to government. Plus, as the daughter of a kindergarten teacher, I have a particular fondness for an artist who studied kindergarten education and taught K-12!

If you were to describe the Phillips in one word, what would that word be?

Intimate.

What is a fun fact about you?

I was obsessed with carnivorous plants between ages 7-9, and I think, as a result, some core part of my brain will always be devoted to facts about pitcher plants.

Meet our 2023-24 UVA Predoctoral Fellow in Modern and Contemporary Art History. As part of our institutional values and commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, the art history and archeology fellow does independent scholarly work that broadens and diversifies their previous research. They will work at the Phillips, allowing them to fully utilize the museum’s resources. Meaghan M. Walsh is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Art at the University of Virginia, specializing in early 20th-century American art and visual culture. Her research examines the intersections of race, identity, and humor in turn-of-the-20th century American painting and illustration. 

Meaghan Walsh

Why are you interested in working at a museum?

My scholarship and teaching practice are object-based, so I find inspiration from working with art objects. The Phillips offers a unique opportunity for its fellows to view the works up close in both the galleries and storage and work with conservation to learn more about the objects beyond their visual elements. Plus, there is nothing better than being able to go see art in person when you feel stuck in your writing or just need a mental break.

What brought you to The Phillips Collection?

The Phillips Collection and the University of Virginia partnered to create a Predoctoral Fellowship in Modern and Contemporary Art History last year and I JUMPED at the opportunity to apply. Duncan Phillips was one of the individuals who led me to my dissertation topic. In his recollections of George Luks, Phillips commented that Luks had a “humorous understanding” of his subjects. As an Ashcan artist, Luks and his colleagues are often discussed in terms of representing the gritty realities of life in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. Reading Phillips’s musings and seeing the same evaluations of Luks from other contemporary critics, I found myself asking: How are these works, which have long been discussed as depictions of serious matters, “funny”? And who is laughing at these works? As Phillips was one of the individuals who helped frame my project, I thought that concluding my graduate career at his museum was the perfect full-circle moment.

Please tell us about the projects that you will be working on during your fellowship. What do you hope to accomplish during your fellowship?

The primary goal of my fellowship is to finish my dissertation, “Modern Masquerades: Realism, Humor, and Identity in the Works of George Luks.” Beyond my dissertation, I am hoping to collaborate with the other fellows and departments to reexamine the earliest collecting practices of the museum.

What is your favorite painting/artist here?

I am a sucker for Louis Michel Eilshemius’s works. His art is so weird and haunting, and I am delighted whenever I visit a museum and see his works on the wall. It is why I am very excited about the exhibition on his and Ugo Rondinone’s works at the Phillips this fall! 

If you were to describe the Phillips in one word, what would that word be?

Future Forward. I know that’s two words, but I think this embodies the Phillips’s goals in their collecting practices, exhibitions, and community engagement. The focus is looking toward the future and actively working to create a collection that represents the diversity of artists, media, and perspectives in modern and contemporary art today.

What is a fun fact about you?
I used to be a bus driver! In undergrad, I drove the transit buses at UVA, which was such a fun experience. I love working with students and the public, and that passion has driven (pun intended) my career choices ever since.

Meet our 2023-24 Phillips Collection Fellow Arianna Adade, a senior at Howard University. As part of the museum’s institutional values and commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, the yearlong Phillips Collection Fellowship encourages cross-departmental communication and cultivates audiences through authentic and critical programming and targeted affinity marketing.

Arianna Adade

Why are you interested in working at a museum?

I have always been fascinated with art as a non-artist, but I fell in love with studying it in high school after taking an art history course and realized my passion for museum work. To me, museums have the potential to reflect the history and beauty of humanity and transform the ways people think, feel, and learn. I’m excited about the prospect of working in art environments where I can facilitate promoting inclusivity and access to these crucial capsules of knowledge, allowing individuals from diverse backgrounds to freely explore what art means to them.

What brought you to The Phillips Collection?

I was first intrigued by The Phillips Collection after attending the artist talk with Dee Dwyer and Keyonna Jones earlier this year. To witness Black women occupying traditional museum spaces and sharing their stories was unique and made me feel a deep level of comfort.

Please tell us about the projects that you will be working on during your fellowship. What do you hope to accomplish during your fellowship?

As The Phillips Collection Fellow, I have the privilege of working with the Marketing & Communications and Community Engagement Departments. I will be collaborating with artists to engage audiences in multiple ways, allowing individuals to establish connections with art beyond the traditional gallery experience. As a philosophy and English major, I have been able to deepen my love for writing and combine it with art through blog posts and interviews to digitally engage with audiences. I have also collaborated with partner organizations such as the Nicholson Project and the DC Public Library to foster the Phillips’s mission of artistic outreach and inclusion. My involvement with The Phillips Collection, THEARC, and affiliated organizations has truly positioned me as a link between the art realm and the DC community, which has felt very fulfilling. 

What is your favorite painting/artist here?

This is a hard one, but I am particularly drawn to A Girl in Red (Portrait of Gladys Ankora, Achimota) by Grace Salome Kwami, which is currently on view in African Modernism in America, 1947-67. I am half-Ghanaian and very connected to my heritage, so it was truly special to see a portrait by another Ghanaian woman from my family’s hometown that beautifully reflected a significant part of my identity.

If you were to describe the Phillips in one word, what would that word be?

Convivial.

What is a fun fact about you?

I have lived in three countries!