Meet our 2022-23 Fellows. As part of our institutional values and commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, the fellowship program is a comprehensive, yearlong paid program that includes hands-on experience, mentoring, and professional development. 

Rebecca Shipman is the Terra Curatorial Fellow, and will assist with research funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art dedicated to the recontextualization of the Phillips’s collection. Research will consider new perspectives, untold stories, and make connections between the artwork and history of The Phillips Collection and Howard University Gallery of Art.

Rebecca Shipman is currently a senior Art History Major, History Minor at Howard University. She has worked with organizations who seek to support social justice through the creation and displaying of art, locally with the Justice Art Coalition. Rebecca also works at the Moorland Spingarn Research Center and closely with the Howard University Gallery where she works caring for artifacts and preparing exhibits.

Rebecca Shipman, Howard University

Why are you interested in working at a museum?

I view museums as houses of conversation, a way to inject primary evidence into a society that has been largely miseducated about the most important factors which shape present time. I find real power in understanding what came before us, and the Phillips has always been one of my favorite institutions because of its ability to electrify their exhibits.

What brought you to The Phillips Collection?

From the beauty of the space to their innovative programming, I’m always looking for ways to spend more time at The Phillips Collection, so I am thrilled to be the 2022-23 Terra Fellow. As the Terra Fellow I will be working with Assistant Curator Camille Brown and Adjunct Curator Dr. Adrienne Childs to re-contextualize pieces in the collection which have been under-studied or under-displayed. The result will be a kind of follow up to the Phillips’s 2014 Made in the USA exhibition.

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

I hope to end my Fellowship with a better understanding of the business side of a museum, a way to pinpoint and hopefully avoid the factors which play into the homogeny of artworks in a museum, and I am already having great fun spending time with the artists’ work and learning more about them.

What is your favorite painting here?

Though Sam Gilliam is not one of the artists I am researching Red Petals,  1967, is one of my favorite pieces in the collection.

What is a fun fact about you?

A fun fact about me is that I knit, if anyone has great patterns I’d love to share.

Meet our 2022-23 Fellows. As part of our institutional values and commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, the fellowship program is a comprehensive, yearlong paid program that includes hands-on experience, mentoring, and professional development. 

Samantha Williams is the Visitor Experience/Digital Audience Engagement Fellow, and will engage in research and application of online and onsite visitor experience initiatives, including exploring best practices via evaluation and assessment.

Samantha received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder and her Master’s in Computer Science from West Chester University. Before joining the Phillips, Samantha worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for multiple hospitals and healthcare institutions. Her career interests include researching and understanding the ways in which museum goers interact with the art, space, and institution.

Samantha Williams

Why are you interested in working at a museum? 

Inspiration. For me, museum culture is inspirational because it encourages creativity, discovery, and expression. I have always wished to be a part of something that pushes connectivity and progression. Art institutions are a great embodiment of this. Also, I appreciate how the typical museum environment is the antithesis of modern-day work culture, which is often fast-paced, isolating, and overwhelmingly stressful.  

What brought you to The Phillips Collection? 

Before becoming a fellow at The Phillips Collection, I was a frequent visitor. I enjoyed coming to the Phillips for numerous reasons but the highlight for me was how welcoming the space felt. The Phillips seemed tight-knit and invested in both community and art. I love that about the museum and was thrilled to find that there was space for me to contribute. 

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

I will be working behind the scenes gathering meaningful data from internal and external sources about what makes The Phillips Collection so great and in what ways it can still improve. One of my main projects is to focus on developing useful information collection tools and establishing successful collection processes. Also, I will be conducting field research to better understand the many ways in which the visitor experience is impacted. My goal and hope are to provide the museum with translational data that can be used to make tangible change.  

What is your favorite painting/artist here? 

One of my favorite artists at The Phillips Collection is Lou Stovall. The Phillips Collection featured many of his works in a special exhibition. I enjoyed learning about his innovative approach to art via printmaking. Non-traditional and mixed media creation is a favorite of mine when it comes to contemporary art. Stovall’s pieces are phenomenal, touching, and fun to experience. 

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

Inviting 

What is a fun fact about you? 

When the mood strikes, I enjoy partaking in local fashion shows as a runway model. I have participated in five fashion weeks along the East coast.  

Meet our 2022-23 Fellows. As part of our institutional values and commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, the fellowship program is a comprehensive, yearlong paid program that includes hands-on experience, mentoring, and professional development. 

Xin Zheng is the Makeba Clay Diversity Fellow, and will support The Phillip Collection’s Institutional History Project. Led by the curatorial and DEAI departments, the Institutional History Project seeks to deepen our knowledge of the museum’s history through socio-cultural, political, and intersectional lens, to critically and consciously engage our past, and address issues of system racism and inequity, as we consider how we will chart a meaningful and relevant future.

Xin is a senior at Georgetown University double majoring in history and art history. Before coming to the Phillips, Xin worked at the Queens Museum in New York and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and is also a member of the Georgetown Humanities Initiative Advisory Board. After graduating from Georgetown, he intends to pursue a PhD in Art History.

Xin Zheng, Georgetown University

Why are you interested in working at a museum?

I am interested in working at a museum because I think museums are important places where culture is not only preserved but also exchanged. As a minority myself, I appreciate that museums are starting to view art as a universal language that has meaning beyond the aesthetics, and I wanted to participate in this bigger movement.

What brought you to The Phillips Collection?

The Phillips Collection came to my attention after Professor Michelle C. Wang of Georgetown University’s Department of Art History shared the opportunity with me. After reading more about The Phillips Collection’s vision for the future, I respect its attempt to rethinking its place in history. I was especially drawn to the Phillips’s commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. I believe the fellowship not only fits my career interests but also my understanding of a museum.

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

My fellowship is part of the Institutional History Project. I will focus on exploring The Phillips Collection’s history from the 40s to the 70s. I will look at how the museum has changed internally, its contributions to the museum industry, and its domestic and international impact. Toward the second half of the fellowship, I will also be working on individual artists and looking at their connections with the Phillips. In the end, I hope to find relevant information that would help the museum to recontextualize itself in history through a DEAI lens.

What is your favorite painting in the collection?

I especially enjoy Joan Miró’s The Red Sun.

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

I would describe The Phillips Collection as intimate.

What is a fun fact about you?

If the art history path doesn’t work out, I aspire to become a chef.