CCL/Mellon Foundation Seminar in Curatorial Practice

The Center for Curatorial Leadership (CCL) is pleased to announce the 2025 cohort of the CCL/Mellon Foundation Seminar in Curatorial Practice. Now in its eleventh year, the Seminar will provide twelve outstanding students with the opportunity to engage in the critical responsibilities of museums today.

The 2025 cohort will meet in-person in New York City for an intensive two-week program this July. The curriculum includes one-on-one mentorship, Columbia Business School coursework, conversations with leaders in the field, including curators, CCL alumni, and museum directors, and site visits to museum collections, storage, conservation, artist studios, and more.

With the support of the Mellon Foundation, CCL is proud to provide advanced graduate students and emerging cultural professionals with the knowledge and networks to pursue careers in museums. This year’s students represent eight different universities and diverse fields of study, which include Contemporary Caribbean art, Byzantine art, 18th century French decorative art, Egyptian art, Contemporary African art, and more. This cohort brings a wide range of scholarship and expertise that promises to expand and advance the impact of our field.

CCL is delighted to welcome the 2025 Seminar cohort into our network and looks forward to their future accomplishments.

The 2025 seminar participants, listed alphabetically, are: Paulina Ascencio Fuentes, New York University / Charmaine Branch, Princeton University / Shiro Burnette, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University / Alexandra Dennett, Harvard University / Rachel Hunter Himes, Columbia University / Elif Karakaya, University of Rochester / Sheyda Aisha Khaymaz, University of Texas at Austin / Maysa Martins, University of Texas at Austin / Earnestine Qiu, Princeton University / Ashley K. Raghubir, University of Toronto / Ana María Sánchez Lesmes, Boston University / Chahrazad Zahi, Boston University 

Learn more about the program here.