Art history Ph.D. student recognized by Smithsonian for Latino art research

Emma Oslé, an advanced Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Art History and a former adjunct lecturer in the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies, recently earned the Big 10 Academic Alliance/Terra Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship in American Art, according to a press release.

She will continue her dissertation on a full-time basis through the Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program.

The Big 10 Academic Alliance Fellowship in American Art with the Smithsonian Museum admits predoctoral candidates whose research topics have been recognized as important in the field of American art history. Her work is also funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art, which funds research involving marginalized groups.

But the path to reaching this fellowship has not been an easy one, Oslé said.

She began her educational career studying studio art and art history at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. The school did not have an art history program until the very last part of Oslé's studies, but Oslé became one of its first alumni.

"I decided that I wanted to go ahead and try it. So I ended up doing both studio art and art history as sort of like a dual degree, and I ended up just falling in love with it," she said.

Working on her senior thesis in art history prompted a love of research as well, which is what inspired Oslé to begin graduate school at Rutgers. She also became interested in teaching, leading to multiple adjunct professor positions at both Kutztown and Rutgers.

As an adjunct professor, Oslé has taught introductory courses in art history, courses specializing in Latino art, as well as courses of her own design. "Latinx Art and Representation in Visual Media," a class she designed, allowed Oslé to discuss the community's history of representation in film and television, as well as ways that it can be improved in the future.

Since Oslé began her academic career in the studio arts, much of her art history research has focused on contemporary art. Another specialization of hers is Latin American art, inspired by a single class in modern and contemporary Latin American and Caribbean art. Oslé said this class helped her feel "settled" in art history, particularly as it overlapped with her family's Puerto Rican heritage.

"I finally found this moment in art history where I could connect with myself, (and) I could connect with my culture," she said.

Also, for Oslé, being able to dedicate all of her time to studying allows her to hone in on researching and writing, helping her better understand the material. She said an additional valuable aspect of the fellowship is the location, considering the Smithsonian's vast archives.

"There's several collections at the Archives of American Art, which is just downstairs from the Research and Scholars Center, and I'm able to go there during my fellowship and engage with the archives," she said.

Before the fellowship, when Oslé was working on the application, she needed to outline what in the archives she would be studying, providing timelines and research goals that would be accomplished. Essentially, the Smithsonian needed to approve of her research and its importance for her admittance into the program.

She said this recognition was not just important for her, but also for the broader Latino community that her work seeks to represent.

"To know that a big institution like the Smithsonian agrees with me … it means the world to me," she said.

Oslé also encouraged other students with a passion for art history to follow her example and study the area of art history that interests them. She said that some fields appear niche because they are underrepresented.

"That probably means that it needs you, really," Oslé said. "Go where your heart takes you, and as long as you have passion for the thing that you're doing research for, you'll be able to make it through … (the) program that it is you need to do or complete."