Hi! My name is Chesa and I’m a fourth-year student studying History of Art with a minor in the History of the Built Environment. I grew up in the Research Triangle Area in North Carolina and am a first-generation Chinese-American woman.

My interests primarily lie in contemporary art of global diasporic groups with a focus on Asian-American art and architecture. For the past two years, I have worked as an URAP apprentice under Dr. Imogen Hart. Our research has spanned from Orientalism and Victorian House Museums to Black British Artists such as Yinka Shonibare and the late Althea McNish. Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to London for a second time to conduct on-site research at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Leighton House, St. Paul’s Cathedral, etc. I am also interested in challenging conventional art spaces and believe that public art is a powerful tool for community engagement.

I hope my research, and that of my peers, will serve to expand the art historical canon to include more artists of non-western backgrounds and historically-marginalized groups. Please reach out to me if you have questions regarding research in the humanities or if you just want to chat!