Kanitra Fletcher

Kanitra Fletcher is an American curator and art historian currently working as associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Named to her role in January 2021 after serving as an associate curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Fletcher is the National Gallery's first curator dedicated to acquiring, stewarding, and exhibiting work by African American artists. Fletcher's academic specializations include the art of Brazil and Latin America and the Black avant-garde.[1][2][3]

Kanitra Fletcher
EducationRutgers University–New Brunswick (BA);
University of Texas at Austin (MA);
Cornell University (PhD)
Occupation(s)Curator, Art Historian
Years active2013-Present
EmployerNational Gallery of Art
TitleAssociate Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art

Education and early career

Fletcher was raised in Houston.[4] She graduated from Rutgers University-New Brunswick with a BA in English literature before receiving an MA in Latin American studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011.[3][5] In 2019 she earned a PhD in art history from Cornell University, where her thesis focused on Black aesthetics and the Black avant-garde in the mid-20th century.[5][6]

She worked as an assistant at a number of museums in New York prior to her career as a curator, including the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Museum of Modern Art, and New Museum.[7]

Curatorial career

In 2013, Fletcher was chosen as the curator of video art at Landmarks, the public art program of her alma mater UT Austin.[3]

She began at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) as a curatorial assistant in July 2017 before becoming an associate curator of modern and contemporary art.[3] During her time at MFAH she oversaw the 2021 showing of Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, which originated at the Tate Modern in London in 2017.[8][9][4]

Fletcher was announced as the National Gallery of Art's first associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art on January 13, 2021.[10][3][11][1][7] Her first curated show at the National Gallery was Afro-Atlantic Histories in 2022, which she had first adapted for MFAH in 2021 from its original showing at the São Paulo Museum of Art.[12][2]

References
  1. "National Gallery of Art Announces New Staff Appointed to Key Positions Across the Museum". NGA. National Gallery of Art. 13 January 2021. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  2. Kennicott, Philip (14 April 2022). "National Gallery enters new, overdue era with African diaspora show". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  3. Valentine, Victoria L. (13 January 2021). "National Gallery of Art Makes 4 New Hires, Including First Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art". Culture Type. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. Liu, Catherine (13 July 2020). "MFAH's 'Art In The Age Of Black Power' Reflects On Both Past And Present". Houston Public Media. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  5. "Kanitra Fletcher". Cornell University. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  6. "EN (AVANT) GARDE!: BLACK AMERICAN ARTISTS FOR AND AGAINST BLACK AESTHETICS, 1925-1975". Cornell University Library. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  7. Blay, Christopher (13 January 2021). "MFAH's Kanitra Fletcher Named National Gallery's Associate Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art". Glasstire. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  8. "Soul of a Nation". Aesthetica. 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  9. "Soul of a Nation". Tate. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  10. Martinique, Elena (18 January 2021). "Two Women of Color Hired at Major Art Institutions". Widewalls. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  11. Greenberger, Alex (14 January 2021). "National Gallery Hires Kanitra Fletcher as Its First Curator of African American Art". ARTnews. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  12. "Afro-Atlantic Histories". NGA. National Gallery of Art. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
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