How does the Winterthur Program foster and facilitate BIPOC and marginalized perspectives?

The Program encourages close analysis of all objects to uncover multiple and diverse meanings. Although Winterthur’s collections are famous for their extraordinary decorative arts objects, a large portion of the museum’s object collections relate to BIPOC experience and history. Additionally, the collection has many objects related to women’s, children’s, and elders’ histories. The University of Delaware has particularly strong collections in 20th-century African American art at its Mechanical Hall Gallery. Fellows can work with this collection in Art History, American Civilizations/History, and Africana Studies courses taken at the University. The University also fosters diverse scholarship via its Center for Disability Studies and Women and Gender Studies’ Department. Women and Gender Studies’ courses also foster LGBTQ perspectives and can facilitate LGBTQ-specific object analyses. Library holdings between the Winterthur and University libraries support research on the material culture of almost any group in any time period and more broadly—the politics of representation. All field-based learning trips give fellows access to diverse museums and cultural institutions with collections that contrast with Winterthur’s collection strengths.