Inaugural David C. and Thelma G. Driskell Award for Creative Excellence
March 11, 2022
We welcome submissions from emerging scholars and artists who will create new artistic or scholarly work that furthers the Driskell Center’s mission.
The University of Maryland’s David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts & Culture of African Americans & the African Diaspora is pleased to announce the inaugural competition for The David C. and Thelma G. Driskell Award for Creative Excellence.
The David C. Driskell Center
Committed to preserving the rich heritage of African American visual art and culture, the David C. Driskell Center was established in 2001 to provide an intellectual home for artists, museum professionals, art administrators and scholars who are working to expand and deepen the field of African diasporic studies in the visual arts. Housing artistic collections, archival papers and a research library, the center is a major repository for the study of African American visual culture. A description of major collections can be found here.
About the Award
The David C. and Thelma G. Driskell Award for Creative Excellence is designed to provide emerging scholars and artists with access to the center’s collections in order to conduct new research or create new artistic work that furthers the center’s mission of expanding and deepening the field of African diasporic studies in the visual arts. The awardee will be expected to commit to 2–3 weeks in residence at the Driskell Center between the summer of 2022 and the summer of 2023. While the Driskell Center will serve as the primary location of research, the University of Maryland’s proximity to Washington, D.C. also opens up other locations for study, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture (and the other museums of the Smithsonian), the National Gallery of Art, and a variety of historical sights and monuments. Over the course of the residency, the awardee will document their work through a series of public writings and participate in public programming of their work at the Driskell Center. The project should be substantially complete by the summer of 2023.
Award
The awardee will receive a stipend of $5,000 and lodging on or near the University of Maryland campus for the duration of their award period.
Eligibility and Evaluation
We welcome proposals from emerging scholars, including graduate students and those who have completed graduate degrees within the last five years. To apply, please send (1) a project proposal of no more than 1000 words, (2) a resume and (3) one letter of reference to arichers@umd.edu by May 15, 2022. The proposal should outline relevant experience and accomplishments, the proposed creative or research topic, an explanation of how the center’s holdings will support that topic, and a proposed timeline for the residency.