Bard at BPL 2020-2021 Fellows

The Bard at Brooklyn Public Library microcollege is pleased to announce our 2020-2021 fellows!

The Bard at BPL fellowship program brings select artists, scholars, and professionals who have demonstrated innovation and excellence in their fields to engage with Bard at BPL students over the course of the academic year. The fellows, whose expertise in the areas of politics, culture, writing, visual arts, science, and history, strengthen and energize the BPL microcollege community. Through exposure to the fellows’ projects and processes and through mentorship, students have the opportunity to connect their academic studies to the wider world around them.

Meet the 2020 Bard at BPL Fellows:

Amber Wendler

Amber Wendler is a Ph.D. student in the Biological Sciences department and an Interfaces of Global Change Fellow at Virginia Tech. She is also a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Amber is currently investigating how changes in the environment affect the behavior of birds in Puerto Rico. In addition to research, Amber is also passionate about making STEM more inclusive and recently co-organized the inaugural Black Birders Week.

Dexter Ciprian

 Dexter Ciprian, he/him, is a Dominican-American visual artist living and working in The Bronx, NY. His work explores migration, diaspora, and mythology and has been exhibited nationally. He is a current Artist-in-Residence at The Bronx Museum Block Gallery and the Co-Director of OPEN DOORS, an arts and justice initiative which supports the creativity and leadership of Black and Latinx people who use wheelchairs. He holds an M.Arch from the Yale School of Architecture (2009), and a B.S. from the University at Buffalo (2006).

Ayana Omilade Flewellen

Ayana Omilade Flewellen (she/her) is a Black Feminist, an archaeologist, a storyteller, and an artist. She is the co-founder of the Society of Black Archaeologists and sits on the Board of Diving With A Purpose. Dr. Flewellen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. Her research and teaching interests are shaped by and speak to Black Feminist Theory, historical archaeology, maritime heritage conservation, public and community-engaged archaeology, processes of identity formations, and representations of slavery.

Jasmine Hearn

Jasmine Hearn is from the land of the Karankawa and Atapake people, now known as Houston, TX. A curator, director, choreographer, organizer, teaching artist, and a 2017 Bessie award-winning performer, they are currently a company member with Urban Bush Women and a 2019 Jerome Foundation Jerome Hill Fellow. Jasmine also creatively collaborates with Alisha B. Wormsley, Vanessa German, Holly Bass, Jennifer Nagle Myers, and Solange Knowles. Jasmine’s creative embodied practice is rooted in social and performative dance and vocal traditions and techniques, Hatha yoga, and a blend of somatic practices, including BodyMindMovement. Jasmine will discuss her work as a movement artist.

For more on the microcolleges, visit us here.