OUR VISION

AGBS believes that art belongs to everyone and should be accessible to all.

OUR MISSION

Art Galleries at Black Studies (AGBS) at The University of Texas at Austin is a collecting institution whose mission is to acquire, preserve, interpret, exhibit, and otherwise make accessible modern and contemporary art and cultural materials from Africa and the African Diaspora for all audiences. AGBS includes two principal galleries—Christian-Green Gallery and Idea Lab—and six project spaces located in the Gordon-White Building. Its exhibitions and programs serve communities on and off campus and engage with the larger art worlds. AGBS’s collection—numbering nearly 1,300 objects—is the core of its identity and is available for research onsite and with our partner institutions.  

Founded in 2016, AGBS is a preeminent cultural asset of the College of Liberal Arts, and is a center for teaching, learning, and scholarship. AGBS fosters a community within art and visual culture that cultivates experiential learning. As such, AGBS serves as a forum for the creative and critical expression of artists, curators, and historians. AGBS is open to all, free of charge, and committed to inviting audiences to engage in art and visual culture.

AGBS pursues excellence in all aspects of its operations. It upholds the legal and ethical standards prescribed by the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries.

Read more about our collections here.

MEET THE TEAM

Cherise Smith, PhD
Executive Founding Director

Ariel Evans, PhD
Contemporary Art Research Fellow

Kaila Schedeen, PhD
Exhibition and Collections Manager

Phillip Townsend, PhD
Curator of Art

Ilyana Jones
Gallery Educator

Pierce Cedillo
Gallery Assistant

Learn more about our MINDPOP Pathways for Arts Leadership Internships

AGBS champions art by makers whose practices engage African Diasporic experiences.

AGBS stands with and in support of all Indigenous students, faculty, and staff at The University of Texas at Austin. We are grateful to be able to work, study, and learn on this piece of Turtle Island.