This year the Van Every/Smith Galleries are excited to have two Mellon-funded internship positions for “Stories Yet to be Told: Race, Racism, and Accountability on Campus,” an initiative that will transform key campus spaces into interactive sites for interrogating race and racism. We would like to introduce the first of our two Stories Yet to be Told interns, Maya Tetali ‘21.
Name and hometown?
Maya; Malvern, PA.
Class year and major/minor?
Senior; Art History Major, French and Francophone Studies minor.
Did you do anything this summer or in quarantine related to the arts?
Over the summer, I was a research assistant to Dr. Shaw Smith in the Art History department. I helped edit one of his manuscripts and an article for publication.
Why were you interested in the Stories Yet to be Told internship?
I was interested in this internship because of how critical and honest it is. As I near graduation, I hope to pursue a career in the arts field, which I recognize has a significant history of racism. It is a huge privilege to be able to earn internship experience while also engaging in critical discussions regarding this history.
What projects will you be working on this semester?
We are going to be doing a full survey of our collection and assessing the gaps in it. We will also be assessing the historical portraits the college owns and what is the proper way to either display them or store them.
What role do you think the arts play in conversation about race, racism, and accountability?
Whether we realize it or not, arts play a huge part in how we remember things. So much of the discussion of representation and erasure of history comes from how it is all played out in the arts. At the same time, artistic expression is something that is so natural to so many people and can be used as an important tool to combat the continued erasure.
What are the long-term goals of this initiative?
I think our long-term goal is to have a more equitable gallery space as well as visual culture within the Davidson College campus. We ultimately want any student who decides to attend Davidson to be able to look at the gallery, the collection, or any other visual entity on campus and feel welcomed in the space.
What are you most excited about for this internship?
I am most excited to ask the hard questions and create actionable proposals that will have a lasting impact at Davidson.