Victoria McCraven has joined the Saint Louis Art Museum as the 2020-2021 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow. The fellowship aims to expand the number of under-represented professionals working in art-related fields in museums, galleries, non-profit organizations and universities.

Originally from Cheshire, Conn., she earned her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, majoring in geography and minoring in art history. While at Dartmouth, she worked at the Hood Museum of Art, where she curated the exhibition “Black Bodies on the Cross.”

McCraven was selected as a 2019-2020 U.S.-U.K. Fulbright Postgraduate Grantee to complete her master’s degree in history of art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Combining her background in geography and art history, Victoria applies an interdisciplinary approach to her work, and is excited to explore the museum’s encyclopedic collection.

Named for African-American artist Romare Bearden, the one-year paid fellowship is designed to prepare graduate students of color seeking careers as art historians and museum professionals. Fellows gain valuable hands-on experience working throughout the Art Museum on specific assignments tailored to their background and interests. Since the program’s inception in 1992, Bearden Fellows have spent their year teaching, researching works in the collection, developing programming, writing gallery materials and assisting curators with the development of exhibitions.

The Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellowship is a critical component in the museum’s long-established campaign to increase diversity among its professional staff. Past fellows have gone on to hold key positions at the Saint Louis Art Museum, as well as at other noteworthy museums and universities, including the Art Institute of Chicago, National Gallery of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art and University of Texas at Austin.