About

Indigenous Arts of Australia and the Americas

“The Indigenous Arts of Australia and the Americas: Object-based Research and Curatorial Skill for a New Generation” (2016-2020) is a broad multi-year initiative funded in partnership by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and the Provost’s Office. The initiative seeks to establish UVA as a research center of excellence for the study of the Indigenous arts and aims to bring together object-oriented research and teaching and open new opportunities for training in curatorial work for students from a broad spectrum of disciplines and backgrounds.

The Indigenous Arts Initiative aims to:

1. Promote the Native American, pre-Columbian, and Indigenous Australian artifacts in the University’s collections at The Fralin Museum of Art and the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection.
2. Make these collections available for research to Faculty and Students, both within UVA and from other institutions.
3. Encourage cross-disciplinary research with Indigenous Arts Fellowships for UVA faculty
4. Fund visiting artists and fellows
5. Promote experiential learning and object-oriented research through curatorial internships for UVA students and a Summer Curatorial Intensive for students from diverse backgrounds, who are underrepresented in the humanities.

Among the elements made possible by this new initiative are two curatorial positions in Indigenous arts; a visiting residency programs for scholars, artists, and curators who are leaders in the field of Indigenous arts; and new programs and internships on curatorial work for students from a broad range of backgrounds and disciplines. 

**Please note: the Mellon Indigenous Arts program ended in 2021. This web site is now for reference only.**