Skip to main content

2 recent WSSU graduates participate in Yale art institute

Soyeon Choi (right), head conservator for works on paper at the Yale Center for British Art, shows recent WSSU graduate Jordan Wright techniques for mending paper. (Photo by Jessica Smolinski, Yale News)

Two May Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) art graduates recently took part in the 2019 Yale-HBCU Student and Mentor Institute in Technical Art History (SMITAH).

Phebe Pankey ‘19 and Jordan Wright ‘19 participated in the weeklong program, which was held in June. Students who attended the program learned about the analytical tools and techniques used to examine art objects.

“This experience will help me in the future because of the people I have been exposed to,” Pankey said. “I have gained a lot of knowledge on curating and the steps to become a conservator which are also two fields I can see myself going into.”

“I love studio work and working with traditional materials,” Wright said in an Yale University News article. “Getting this perspective on conservation will inform my work in the future. It’s given me some things to think about as I consider my next steps.”

The objective of the Yale/HBCU SMITAH is to expose scholars from HBCUs to careers in the cultural heritage sector with a focus on preservation and conservation.

Both alumni worked as interns at WSSU’s Diggs Gallery as students.

Isaiah Green, a senior sport management major from Spring Lake and a summer intern in Integrated Marketing Communications, contributed to this article. 

More News

Winston-Salem State climbs to no. 1 in ESPN Band of The Year

The latest rankings for the ESPN Band of The Year HBCU band championship are in and Winston-Salem State University has made the leap to no. 1.

Read Moreabout Winston-Salem State climbs to no. 1 in ESPN Band of The Year

WSSU kicks off the Slater Series with 9th Wonder in celebration of 50 years of hip-hop

From the bang-bang boogie to body-ody-ody-ody, Winston-Salem’s Patrick Denard Douthit, better known as 9th Wonder, gave some lessons on hip-hip took during the inaugural Slater Series on the campus of Winston-Salem State University.

Read Moreabout WSSU kicks off the Slater Series with 9th Wonder in celebration of 50 years of hip-hop

WSSU student Rajah Caruth to be featured in RiverRun International Film Festival

WSSU Motorsports Management student Rajah Caruth is the focus of Jack Gordon's “Outside Line,” a documentary short film. Making its North Carolina debut at the RiverRun International Film Festival, the film chronicles Caruth’s journey from virtual racing driver to professional driver in NASCAR’s national touring series.

Read Moreabout WSSU student Rajah Caruth to be featured in RiverRun International Film Festival