From UNC Asheville:
UNC Asheville Names First Black Mountain College Legacy Research Fellow and First Intern
Mary Emma Harris has been named the first Black Mountain College Legacy Research Fellow at UNC Asheville. Visiting student Joshua A. Gardner is the first recipient of UNC Asheville’s Black Mountain College Legacy Research Internship. Both positions begin in the fall semester 2016.
Harris is a pre-eminent Black Mountain College (BMC) scholar, having already completed an exhaustive research project, collecting materials and completing more than 400 interviews of BMC alumni and faculty. The result is a definitive book, The Arts at Black Mountain College (MIT Press, 1987), the Black Mountain College Project website, and a priceless archive of BMC materials now housed and available to the public in the Western Region Archives of the State Archives of North Carolina in nearby Oteen. She is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the William C. Whitney Foundation, and the John Dewey Foundation, and she has written numerous articles, curated shows and organized panels and events on BMC. Harris earned a B.A. from Greensboro College and an M.A. from UNC Chapel Hill.
“In short, there is no Black Mountain College scholar in the world even near her stature or with even close to her knowledge on the subject of Black Mountain College,” said Brian Butler, Thomas Howerton Distinguished Professor of Humanities at UNC Asheville and co-chair of the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC). “Through this fellowship, Harris will continue to research and share her knowledge with our community, bridging our history with our future as a leader in the liberal arts.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to share Black Mountain College with UNC Asheville students and to be in the glorious mountains of Western North Carolina for the fall season. I look forward to meeting faculty and students and being a part of the university community. Black Mountain College continues to inspire and to teach life-lessons,” said Harris.
Black Mountain College Fellows are artists and scholars-in-residence who will teach one course in the spirit of BMC’s art-centered education during their semester-long visit. Fellows also will give at least one public lecture or workshop about their scholarly research – research enhanced by BMCM+AC resources. Classes will be open to UNC Asheville students as well as students from area colleges and universities, with workshops open to the public. The research interns complement this research and outreach, working with UNC Asheville faculty to explore BMC’s approach to pedagogy and creativity and the college’s continuing impact upon American culture.
Gardner’s internship encompasses working with the BMCM+AC, doing research on BMC, assisting visiting scholars and helping with the eighth annual ReVIEWING Black Mountain College conference, which takes place Sept. 23-25, 2016. A visiting art historian from the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom, Gardner will also assist in curating the upcoming BMCM+AC exhibition, Basil King: Between Painting and Writing, with co-curators Butler and Vincent Katz. For Gardner, this fellowship is a step toward a career in the arts as a scholar and art dealer.
“We are thrilled that Joshua is our first intern. He realizes the international importance of the Black Mountain College legacy and has already done original research on the college. His help in curating the Basil King show has been tremendous,” said Butler.
“It is indeed a privilege to be the beneficiary of this innovative partnership between UNCA and BMCM+AC; I look forward to continue contributing to the discourse surrounding the legacy of Black Mountain College, whilst occupying a formative role in the future of a partnership dedicated to that mission,” said Gardner.
The Black Mountain College Legacy Fellows and Research Intern program is funded through a $180,000 grant from the Windgate Foundation and a partnership between the BMCM+AC and UNC Asheville. The three-year grant will provide six fellowships at $25,000 each and six internships at $5,000 each.
For more information about upcoming Black Mountain College Museum events, visit blackmountaincollege.org/.
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