Crossroads Cohort at Tulane University  
Africana Studies at the Intersection of Art History and Practice

The Crossroads Cohort is a new, innovative interdisciplinary graduate program developed by Tulane’s Africana Studies Program and the Newcomb Art Department.

Set to welcome its inaugural cohort in fall 2025, each cycle, the master’s-level program will accept a small group of students to pursue graduate study at the intersection of Africana studies and art and to earn either an MA in Africana studies and art history, an MA in Africana studies and an MFA in studio art, or an MFA in studio art with a certificate in Africana studies.

Mindful of the sense of isolation often experienced by students—especially Black students and other students of color—who work at the intersection of these fields during their graduate study, the two-year program is designed around a cohort model and will accept at least three students every other year. Crossroads Cohort students will participate in dedicated seminar courses together and collaborate to develop a capstone project such as a small exhibition, symposium, or innovative public program as the culmination of their graduate experience.

In addition to their academic training, students in the Crossroads Cohort will acquire professional skills and experience in community-engaged art history and/or art practice through paid summer internships at local arts and heritage organizations. They will also enjoy the opportunity to expand their academic and professional networks through meaningful cohort activities such as travel experiences every semester to see relevant exhibitions and meet museum professionals, visit other institutions to engage with faculty, or attend a conference. Expenses for these travel experiences are covered in full by the program, and all admitted students receive a full tuition waiver, a graduate student living stipend, paid summer internship opportunities relevant to the field, funding for the capstone project and access to additional research funds.

The program aims to support systemic and structural change in the arts by offering interdisciplinary training for scholars, museum professionals, and artists interested in bringing Black studies perspectives to the study and practice of art in order to engage narratives that have been conventionally marginalized, siloed, or silenced. In contrast to traditional pipeline programs that often encourage students to conform to the traditional models that have generally worked to exclude them in the first place, the Crossroads Cohort aims to empower its students to participate in upending these models by emphasizing the necessity of their presence and of their work to the future of the field and to the imperative project of cultivating diverse, representative, equitable, and just academic and art institutions.

People

• Mia L. Bagneris - Associate Professor of Art History and Africana Studies and Director of the Africana Studies Program
• Stephanie Porras – Professor of Art History and Chair of the Newcomb Art Department

Admission

Applications for the Crossroads Cohort program will open in late fall 2024 for admission in fall 2025 and will be linked here. 

In the meantime, questions about the program can be directed to Mia L. Bagneris (mbagneri@tulane.edu) or Stephanie Porras (sporras@tulane.edu).  

 

Image credit: Tavares Strachan, You Belong Here, installation view, 2014, blocked out neon traveling installation on the Mississippi River [courtesy of Antenna Gallery].