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Letter from the Acting Chair

This year has had its ups and downs as we continue to recover from the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the big picture, however,

I am happy to report that we are moving forward with several initiatives and developments that will make FIT a more beautiful, modern, and inclusive community in the coming years. On the subject of beauty, we all have watched our New Academic Building rise from its foundations over the past two years with excitement and great expectations. This new facility, which will open in January 2024, will provide us with a bright and airy lounge area in addition to inviting exhibition spaces, modern classrooms, and a welcoming new entrance on 28th street.

At the same time this gleaming facility has been rising, in the History of Art department we have been engaged in our own renovations, updating more than fifty courses with expanded prerequisites, accurate and inclusive titles, and current bibliographies. This year we made major progress de-centering Europe in the curriculum with the addition of a new foundational course, Crossroads: Global Art and Its Histories, 1450–1750 (HA 115), created by Professor Jennifer Babcock and taught by Professor Maggie Williams. We also

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added Introduction to Fashion History: Materials, Motifs, and Meanings (HA 118); and Art and Social Justice in New York (HA 246). These courses will satisfy the new SUNY requirement for a General Education course in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice.

It has been inspiring to review the depth and breadth of our offerings, which have been enhanced by new full time History of Art faculty. This year we welcomed our new tenure-track faculty member, Dr. Andrea Vázquez de Arthur. Andrea has a PhD in Art History from Columbia University and works on pre-Columbian and Latin American art. Her new course, HA 242: Andean Art and Civilization, expands our curricular offerings in the visual culture of the Americas. We are also pleased to announce that we will welcome another tenure-track faculty member in the fall. Dr. Kristen Laciste will join the department next year as a specialist in African Art. Kristen holds a PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with research specialization in The Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant Persons (La SAPE) of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, the subject of her dissertation. Kristen also researches contemporary African photog- raphy, Black Dandyism, and Afrofuturism. She is currently the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Smarthistory where she has contributed essays on works by Malick Sidibé and Santu Mofokeng as well as a Female (pwo) Mask

Applications for our Art History and Museum Professions program have risen notably for next year, thanks to the tireless efforts and enthusiasm of our AHMP Chair, Professor Alex Nagel. And I am pleased to be wrapping up my year of “department sitting” as Acting Chair this year as we look forward to the return of Professor Justine De Young following her sabbatical year spent working on a new book.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to our invaluable department members who keep the wheels on the bus even when the road gets rocky—Molly Schoen, our Visual Resources Curator, Department Technologist Nanja Andriananjason, and Jennifer Fantozzi, our Department Coordinator and font of all knowledge about how FIT works. Managing the department this year without them would have been impossible.

Wishing you all a wonderful and relaxing spring and summer as we emerge from dark days,

Professor Amy Werbel, PhD Acting Chair, History of Art Department

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