Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces 2025–26 Fellowship Appointments

SAAM will welcome twenty fellows for the 2025–26 academic year. Among this year’s cohort are four senior scholars, two postdoctoral fellows, twelve predoctoral fellows, and two Smithsonian Artist Research Fellows. Utilizing the Smithsonian’s vast collections, they will research the impact of music on the visual arts, works of craft produced by Black artists and artisans, artist-built environments in landscapes slated for urban development, and more. A directory of appointees that includes their project abstracts is available at https://americanart.si.edu/search/fellows?content_type=fellow&begin_year=2025. Diane Ahn, SAAM-APAC-Terra Predoctoral Fellow in Asian American Art, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Allison Bigelow, George Gurney Senior Fellow, University of Notre Dame Rose Bishop, Big Ten Academic Alliance/Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellow, University of Southern California Kim Bobier, Smithsonian Institution Postdoctoral Fellow, Pratt Institute Matthew Bowman, Wyeth Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, University of Iowa Gabrielle Christiansen, Douglass Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University O.M. Comstock, SAAM Predoctoral Fellow in American Craft and Big Ten Academic Alliance Smithsonian Fellow, University of Minnesota Jesse Dritz, Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellow, Boston University Tatiana Flores, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Senior Fellow, University of Virginia David R. Harper, Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Janina López, Will Barnet Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, University of Pittsburgh Julia Modes, Audrey Flack Short-Term Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Arts and Design Karlsruhe Andrew Hansung Park, Big Ten Academic Alliance/Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles Taylor Rose Payer, Betsy James Wyeth Predoctoral Fellow in Native American Art, University of Minnesota Casey Reas, Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles Clara Royer, Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellow, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne Joseph Semkiu, Big Ten Academic Alliance/Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellow, University of Southern California Hampton Smith, Joe and Wanda Corn Predoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nicole Woods, William H. Truettner Senior Fellow, Loyola Marymount University Allison Young, Patricia and Phillip Frost Senior Fellow, Louisiana State University and A&M College, Baton Rouge Since 1970, SAAM has provided 809 scholars with financial aid, unparalleled research resources, and a world-class network of colleagues. Former fellows now occupy positions in prominent academic and cultural institutions across North and South America, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, and Europe. Learn more at https://americanart.si.edu/research/fellowships.