Dr. Lisa Fischman, Ruth Gordon Shapiro ’37 Director of the Davis Museum at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, has appointed Dr. Amanda Gilvin as the Assistant Curator of Collections. Gilvin’s primary focus will be on the Davis Museum’s encyclopedic permanent holdings: she will participate in an active schedule of collections-based installations and temporary exhibitions, as well as produce related publications and programs. Her appointment becomes official on August 1, 2016.

“Amanda brings great strength to the Davis curatorial team with her deep knowledge of African art and art of the African diaspora,” said Lisa Fischman. “Her expertise combined with her teaching background, her passion for art objects and their close study, her delight in engagement with students, and her evident enthusiasm for curatorial practice make her a perfect fit for the Davis.”

Gilvin comes to the Davis Museum from Skidmore College, where she spent the last year as Visiting Assistant Professor of African Art.  Prior to this position, she held the Five College Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in African Art and Architecture at Mount Holyoke College and Smith College. During this three-year period, she co-curated El Anatsui: New Worlds at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, installed the first permanent gallery dedicated to African art at the Smith College Museum of Art, designed and taught courses on African art and culture, and advised on museum acquisitions at both colleges.

Gilvin’s scholarship examines the relationship between African art and the formation of the nation-state. She received her Ph.D. in 2012 from Cornell University with a dissertation titled “The Warp of a Nation: The Exhibition and Circulation of Nigerien Art, 1920-Present.” Her field research in Niger was funded by a Fulbright-Hays fellowship. Her interests and expertise include textiles, contemporary art, and art of the African diaspora. She has published her research extensively in journals and exhibition catalogues and is currently preparing the manuscript for her book, Mining Beauty: Art and Development in Niger.