Bridget R. Cooks, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Rochester, has received an $18,500 fellowship award for her dissertation in American art.
Cooks, who is now an assistant museum educator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is researching a history of black representation and self-representation in art exhibitions in the United States from 1893-1998.
Her award from the Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Fellowship Program in American Art will be used to provide financial support while Cooks continues to research and write her dissertation.
"This award also allows me the chance to interview essential players in the representation of black culture around the country," she said. "It is a vote of confidence from the arts community that a history of black art exhibitions will be an important contribution to the field of art history, cultural studies, and museum studies."
Cooks, a resident of Los Angeles, earned her bachelor of arts degree in art history and studio art from the University of California in Irvine. She has received research grants and awards from the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Rochester and the College Art Association Mentor Travel Fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation. Her work also has been published in Camera Obscura.
The American Council of Learned Societies is a private, nonprofit federation of 63 national scholarly associations devoted to advancement of humanistic studies in all fields of learning. This fellowship program is made possible by funding from the Henry Luce Foundation. Cooks was one of 10 fellowship winners.