Custom Categories: Fellows

Darla Migan, PhD is a philosopher and art critic. She has written gallery essays in support of artists in Berlin, Kampala, San Francisco, and New York; lectured at the American Society for Aesthetics; and published reviews of solo presentations by Faith Ringgold, Abigail DeVille, Ryan Kuo, and Akeem Smith. She is a recipient of an Andy Warhol Arts Writers Grant, an alumnus of the Independent Study Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and a Lecturer at The New School for Social Research. In 2021 Darla began teaching the online course “Philosophy for Artists” and curating @variableterms. She has been invited to visits and discussions with artists at UCLA, Angewandte, Columbus Museum of Art (Ohio), Städelschule, Wassaic, KADIST, The Flag Art Foundation, Artists Alliance Inc, Triangle Arts, and NARS. Darla’s criticism on the conditions of contemporary art and visual culture can be read in Artforum, Art in America, Art News, Artnet News, The Brooklyn Rail, Cultured Magazine, MOMUS, ShiftSpace,Spike, Sugarcane Magazine, and Texte zur Kunst.

Karla Méndez is a recent graduate from Brown University, where she received a master’s in American Studies. She holds a BA from the University of Central Florida in interdisciplinary studies, from which she graduated with honors. She is a lead columnist for the advocacy organization Black Women Radicals, where she writes about Black feminist histories and social movements. She was a contributing writer for the Brown Art Review, focusing on the work of feminist artists and artists of color. She has additionally published with the Boston Art Review. Her interests include examining the histories of Black and Latin American women and their representations within visual art, literature, poetry, and performance. She is interested in how women put forth representations of themselves that are accurately representative of their expansiveness and how they use these avenues to engage with topics of identity, gender, race, and the female body.

Philana was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She is a second-generation American of Chinese and Lao descent. Philana is a PhD student at the University of Kansas. She is interested in Modern and Contemporary Art and the intersectional identities of the Asian American diaspora. Philana has recently co-curated an exhibition that focused on intersectional identities of Asians in Texas called “Reflecting Selves: Asian American Artists in Texas” at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas.

Greta Goldbart is a graduate student at Parsons School of Design working on a Master’s degree in History of Design and Curatorial Studies. She received her B.A. in English & Creative Writing from Emory University in 2020, where she co-curated an exhibition of artist books created by incarcerated people called Voices from the Other Side. She has worked in archives and galleries, and in her free time, enjoys painting, making music, and caring for her snake and gecko.

Yhanni Durdin-James is a multi-disciplinary artist, designer, and founder. She interchangeably uses paint as language and words as art. Her art illuminates her perspective and experiences. She is inspired by the dance of healing and self-definition. She hopes to continue her professional education in design at Parsons.

Angella d’Avignon is a writer and art consultant in Los Angeles, California. Her work focuses on visual culture, socio political issues in land use, public art, community, and memory. She earned her MFA in Art Writing & Criticism from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and her BFA in Art History and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from California State University, Long Beach. She is currently writing a book about ghost towns and belonging.

Sandy Cheng is a Taiwanese born, Washington, DC–based emerging curator and an art nonprofit worker. She has curated exhibitions, including Frequent Goodbyes (2023), Washington, DC; Bless this Mess (2022), Baltimore, MD; Feels Familiar (2022), Baltimore, MD; and The Phenomenon (2021), Kaoshiung–Tapei–Tainan, Taiwan. Sandy earned her BFA in Visual Arts and Design from the National University of Tainan and MFA in Curatorial Practice from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She is currently an intern at Hamiltonian Artists, Washington, DC, and a 2023 ArtTable Fellow at Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art, Reston, VA.

Cheng’s diverse cultural experiences have sparked her to focus on the inherent disparities among individuals. During her graduate studies, she delved into the realm of “third culture kids”—a term first coined by sociologist Dr. Ruth Hill Useem in the 1950s. These people have spent a significant part of their childhood living outside of their passport countries, and on either side of their parents’ cultures. This exploration deepened her fascination with the ways in which artists incorporate global cultural influences into their creations.

Telease Bowen is a 2023 graduate of The George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health. During her time at GW she not only studied and developed insights on helpful healthcare practices for vulnerable populations, but Telease spent a lot of time prioritizing the development of her creative skills. Telease has served as 2021 VP of Marketing for GW’s Black Student Union, the 2022 Co- Creative Director for the contemporary art showcase, Black Heritage Celebration: Soul Revue, the 2023 Editorial Director for GW’s Black ACE Magazine, and more community reach projects. Now, she is launching her second podcast, called “telease thinks,” where she will continue pursuing creative direction and mastery of linguistic creativity/ message delivery. In addition to an expansive creative background, her studies in both public health and Africana Studies make her a “well-rounded & well- informed citizen and artist.” She hopes to utilize her diverse field experience to evolve the visual voice for VoCA as their 2023 Access & Accessibility: Reaching New Audiences Project fellow.

Sophie Bae serves as the Digital Media Coordinator at Mason Exhibitions, based in Arlington, VA. She is also a contractor with Art in Embassies: U.S. Department of State and works in communication and marketing with the Art table DC chapter. Sophie is an accomplished and creativity-oriented visual director with over 7 years of experience in photography, videography, graphic design, digital asset management, and arts management. Her expertise spans various areas, including managing galleries and museums, constructing and maintaining records and files in a database, handling art and shipment of exhibitions, and developing public relations strategies.

Inés Arango-Guingue is an independent curator, writer and artist from Bogotá, Colombia. She has worked and organized solo and group exhibitions in Colombia and the U.S., and led artist spaces, and performance and art education programs in Colombia. She most recently curated and facilitated Fantasmas Y Paratexto (Ghosts and Paratext) at Museo del Banco de La República in Bogotá, a five-month long residency and exhibition program. As part of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Master of Arts Administration and Policy’s 2023 cohort, Inés was co-editor of the department’s journal, Emerge and a Graduate Fellow of SAIC’s Institute for Curatorial Research and Practice.