Senior art major Malik Wilkins just received the Karen E. Meyer & Rick Michelman Fellowship position for the Contemporary Arts Center’s Ecologies of Elsewhere exhibit.

As a fellow, Wilkins will work in-house in Cincinnati 10 hours a week for 12 weeks from January to May, alongside a supervisor in the curatorial department and guest curators: Dr. Chandra Frank; Dr. Portia Malatjie; South African artist-collaborative, MADEYOULOOK. 

Wilkins will research, implement, and maintain MADEYOULOOK’s sanctuary garden

outdoor installation as part of the Ecologies of Elsewhere exhibition. He also gains access to additional mentorship opportunities.

He applied for it to learn more about curating and said working so closely with the curators at the Contemporary Arts Center has been insightful. His ideas center around black people in Ohio, so this specific fellowship piqued his interest.

Now, Wilkins wants to accumulate experiences all over the art world as he pursues graduate school and figures out his future career. 

“I see the need for black male educators in the college world so I’m leaning towards a career in academia,” Wilkins said. “Specifically being a painting professor.”