Lead Instructors
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Dr. Denise LimDr. Denise Lim is an Assistant Professor of Black Material and Visual Culture at The New
School’s Parsons School of Design. As a transdisciplinary scholar specializing in South African
art, design, and cultural heritage, Denise has 18 years of experience researching the politics of identity, place, and time in diverse African and African diasporic contexts. She is completing her first digital monograph, Palimpsests in Ponte City, an interactive website that takes users on a virtual tour of the Ponte apartment complex in Johannesburg. Treating multi-sensory data as cultural palimpsests, this project uncovers legacies of colonialism and apartheid in Ponte’s design, media, and artifacts. Dr. Denise Lim
Dr. Denise Lim is an Assistant Professor of Black Material and Visual Culture at The New
School’s Parsons School of Design. As a transdisciplinary scholar specializing in South African
art, design, and cultural heritage, Denise has 18 years of experience researching the politics of identity, place, and time in diverse African and African diasporic contexts. She is completing her first digital monograph, Palimpsests in Ponte City, an interactive website that takes users on a virtual tour of the Ponte apartment complex in Johannesburg. Treating multi-sensory data as cultural palimpsests, this project uncovers legacies of colonialism and apartheid in Ponte’s design, media, and artifacts. -
Sarah DebrewDr. Sarah F. Derbew is an Assistant Professor of Classics at Stanford University and co-created The African Archive Beyond Colonization with Dr. Denise Lim during the 2021–2022 academic year, when Dr. Lim was a BIPOC Curatorial Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford’s Archaeology Collections. They now offer the course concurrently at their respective institutions and regularly guest lecture for each other’s courses. Dr. Derbew writes, teaches, and speaks widely about ancient Greece’s literary and visual heritage, considering its representations of black people that nimbly provoke—and cut through—hierarchies. In her first book, Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity, she uses critical race theory and performance theory to sift through ancient formulations of blackness. She recently co- edited a volume, Classics and Race: A Historical Reader, and is currently researching the intersections between Greek and African antiquity, focusing on Aksum in northeast Africa.
Sarah Debrew
Dr. Sarah F. Derbew is an Assistant Professor of Classics at Stanford University and co-created The African Archive Beyond Colonization with Dr. Denise Lim during the 2021–2022 academic year, when Dr. Lim was a BIPOC Curatorial Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford’s Archaeology Collections. They now offer the course concurrently at their respective institutions and regularly guest lecture for each other’s courses. Dr. Derbew writes, teaches, and speaks widely about ancient Greece’s literary and visual heritage, considering its representations of black people that nimbly provoke—and cut through—hierarchies. In her first book, Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity, she uses critical race theory and performance theory to sift through ancient formulations of blackness. She recently co- edited a volume, Classics and Race: A Historical Reader, and is currently researching the intersections between Greek and African antiquity, focusing on Aksum in northeast Africa.
Brooklyn Museum Staff
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Annissa MalvoisinDr. Annissa Malvoisin is the Associate Curator of African Art at the Brooklyn Museum and serves as the lead curator in co-organizing “The African Archive Beyond Colonization” course with Dr. Lim. She plays a central role in shaping the course’s engagement with the museum’s collections—developing the object list for student research, coordinating hands-on training with the conservation department, arranging dedicated object study sessions, and serving as an external reviewer for final student presentations on their digital exhibition. Dr. Malvoisin receiver her PhD from the University of Toronto in Egyptology and Nubian Archaeology and is currently Affiliated Faculty at the Bard Graduate Center. A scholar of ancient African history, her research interests lie in a globalized ancient world through the study of material culture and trade. Interested in emerging artists, her work also delves into contemporary issues of migration, identity, and diaspora through her unique archaeological lens that bridges deep time with the conditions of today. Her recent projects include Africa Fashion and co-leading the upcoming re-install of the Arts of Africa galleries at the Brooklyn Museum.
Annissa Malvoisin
Dr. Annissa Malvoisin is the Associate Curator of African Art at the Brooklyn Museum and serves as the lead curator in co-organizing “The African Archive Beyond Colonization” course with Dr. Lim. She plays a central role in shaping the course’s engagement with the museum’s collections—developing the object list for student research, coordinating hands-on training with the conservation department, arranging dedicated object study sessions, and serving as an external reviewer for final student presentations on their digital exhibition. Dr. Malvoisin receiver her PhD from the University of Toronto in Egyptology and Nubian Archaeology and is currently Affiliated Faculty at the Bard Graduate Center. A scholar of ancient African history, her research interests lie in a globalized ancient world through the study of material culture and trade. Interested in emerging artists, her work also delves into contemporary issues of migration, identity, and diaspora through her unique archaeological lens that bridges deep time with the conditions of today. Her recent projects include Africa Fashion and co-leading the upcoming re-install of the Arts of Africa galleries at the Brooklyn Museum.
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Morgan E. MoroneyDr. Morgan E. Moroney served as an external reviewer for the 2025 cohort’s final presentations, evaluating student-curated digital exhibitions based on selected objects from the Brooklyn Museum’s African collections. Dr. Moroney is the Assistant Curator of Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Brooklyn Museum. She received her Ph.D in Egyptian Art and Archaeology from Johns Hopkins University and her BA in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. She was a 2021-2022 American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) Fellow, and the 2019-2020 Robert and Nancy Hall Fellow at the Walters Art Museum. Moroney worked as a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum and has excavated at the Temple of Mut in Luxor, Egypt and at two Aksumite sites in Ethiopia.
Morgan E. Moroney
Dr. Morgan E. Moroney served as an external reviewer for the 2025 cohort’s final presentations, evaluating student-curated digital exhibitions based on selected objects from the Brooklyn Museum’s African collections. Dr. Moroney is the Assistant Curator of Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Brooklyn Museum. She received her Ph.D in Egyptian Art and Archaeology from Johns Hopkins University and her BA in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. She was a 2021-2022 American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) Fellow, and the 2019-2020 Robert and Nancy Hall Fellow at the Walters Art Museum. Moroney worked as a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum and has excavated at the Temple of Mut in Luxor, Egypt and at two Aksumite sites in Ethiopia.
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Yekaterina BarbashDr. Yekaterina Barbash served as an external reviewer for the 2025 cohort’s final presentations, evaluating student-curated digital exhibitions based on selected objects from the Brooklyn Museum’s African collections. Dr. Barbash received her PhD in Egyptian Art and Language from Johns Hopkins University in 2005 and currently is Curator of Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Brooklyn Museum. Her exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum include Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt and the co-curated Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt. Her latest work focused on gallery activations for African Ancestors of Egypt and Nubia: From the Green Sahara to the Nile and Growing Up Tutankhamun. Her research interests include ancient Egyptian religion, philology, and mortuary texts. Barbash authored several scholarly books, exhibition catalogues, and articles.
Yekaterina Barbash
Dr. Yekaterina Barbash served as an external reviewer for the 2025 cohort’s final presentations, evaluating student-curated digital exhibitions based on selected objects from the Brooklyn Museum’s African collections. Dr. Barbash received her PhD in Egyptian Art and Language from Johns Hopkins University in 2005 and currently is Curator of Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Brooklyn Museum. Her exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum include Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt and the co-curated Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt. Her latest work focused on gallery activations for African Ancestors of Egypt and Nubia: From the Green Sahara to the Nile and Growing Up Tutankhamun. Her research interests include ancient Egyptian religion, philology, and mortuary texts. Barbash authored several scholarly books, exhibition catalogues, and articles.
Student Curators
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Barbara SeyerlBarbara Seyerl is currently a Fulbright graduate student at the New School for Social Research in Historical Studies. She previously worked as curator at Neue Galerie Graz in Austria, as an assistant curator at the arts festival steirischer herbst, and lecturer at the University of the Arts in Linz. Her research has covered trans- and posthumanism, internet art and digitalization, as well as Austrian postwar art and cultural history. She is interested in the intersections between art, imperialism and empire. Her texts have appeared in the quarterly magazine dedicated to theory and contemporary art and culture Springerin and several exhibition catalogues.
Barbara Seyerl
Barbara Seyerl is currently a Fulbright graduate student at the New School for Social Research in Historical Studies. She previously worked as curator at Neue Galerie Graz in Austria, as an assistant curator at the arts festival steirischer herbst, and lecturer at the University of the Arts in Linz. Her research has covered trans- and posthumanism, internet art and digitalization, as well as Austrian postwar art and cultural history. She is interested in the intersections between art, imperialism and empire. Her texts have appeared in the quarterly magazine dedicated to theory and contemporary art and culture Springerin and several exhibition catalogues.
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Dina PritmaniDina Pritmani is a first-year graduate student in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies program at Parsons, with a strong interest in the history and making of jewelry and other forms of visual culture. Her work centers on the relationship between ornamentation and the body and architecture, as well as the rich material histories that emerge through processes of cultural and material exchange. Dina is also passionate about collecting rare shoes, garments, and diverse forms of adornment, investigating how these decorative arts are shaped by—and are evolving alongside—advancements in technology and science.
Dina Pritmani
Dina Pritmani is a first-year graduate student in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies program at Parsons, with a strong interest in the history and making of jewelry and other forms of visual culture. Her work centers on the relationship between ornamentation and the body and architecture, as well as the rich material histories that emerge through processes of cultural and material exchange. Dina is also passionate about collecting rare shoes, garments, and diverse forms of adornment, investigating how these decorative arts are shaped by—and are evolving alongside—advancements in technology and science.
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El WeinsteinEl Weinstein is an artist and aspiring curator from San Francisco, California. They graduated from Oberlin College in 2019 and Parsons School of Design in 2025 and enjoy print-making, painting, pottery, museum-going, reading and being outdoors.
El Weinstein
El Weinstein is an artist and aspiring curator from San Francisco, California. They graduated from Oberlin College in 2019 and Parsons School of Design in 2025 and enjoy print-making, painting, pottery, museum-going, reading and being outdoors.
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Lizzy VianLizzy Vian is a master’s candidate in Parsons’ History of Design and Curatorial Studies program. Her primary academic interests are in textiles, dress & bodily adornment, haptic knowledge, and the construction of social and political identity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Prior to Parsons, she wrote her undergraduate thesis on material culture and the construction of identity and nationhood in twentieth-century Cuba at Colorado College. She is currently a fellow at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum of Design.
Lizzy Vian
Lizzy Vian is a master’s candidate in Parsons’ History of Design and Curatorial Studies program. Her primary academic interests are in textiles, dress & bodily adornment, haptic knowledge, and the construction of social and political identity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Prior to Parsons, she wrote her undergraduate thesis on material culture and the construction of identity and nationhood in twentieth-century Cuba at Colorado College. She is currently a fellow at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum of Design.
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Lourdes MillerLourdes Miller is a master’s student in History of Design and Curatorial Studies at Parsons School of Design. Her research centers on early modern Latin American colonial art and design, with a focus on textiles, female-led craftmaking, and material culture. She draws deep inspiration from her mother, whose reflections on being Latina, Catholic, and deeply attuned to beauty have shaped Lourdes’s understanding of art as a lived and layered experience. Raised in the multicultural environment of Miami Beach, Lourdes developed an early appreciation for diasporic communities and the complexity of cultural expression in everyday life and museum spaces alike.
Lourdes Miller
Lourdes Miller is a master’s student in History of Design and Curatorial Studies at Parsons School of Design. Her research centers on early modern Latin American colonial art and design, with a focus on textiles, female-led craftmaking, and material culture. She draws deep inspiration from her mother, whose reflections on being Latina, Catholic, and deeply attuned to beauty have shaped Lourdes’s understanding of art as a lived and layered experience. Raised in the multicultural environment of Miami Beach, Lourdes developed an early appreciation for diasporic communities and the complexity of cultural expression in everyday life and museum spaces alike.
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Lowan LeeLowan Lee is a Master’s candidate in Anthropology & Design at The New School for Social Research and Parsons, specializing in archival ethnography, digital technologies and fashion anthropology. Lowan bridges critical theory and hands-on research to inform museum practice, material culture research, and collaborative design interventions that foreground the entangled narratives of garments, identity, and cultural memory.
Lowan Lee
Lowan Lee is a Master’s candidate in Anthropology & Design at The New School for Social Research and Parsons, specializing in archival ethnography, digital technologies and fashion anthropology. Lowan bridges critical theory and hands-on research to inform museum practice, material culture research, and collaborative design interventions that foreground the entangled narratives of garments, identity, and cultural memory.
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Oz BenderOz Bender has an M.A. degree in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies from The New School’s Parsons School of Design and focuses on orientalism and nation-building in 19th-century American visual and material culture, and 18th-century French decorative arts. Oz has a BFA in Craft and Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he practiced jewelry-scale metalsmithing, furniture woodwork, and a range of textile arts. He has a passion for rare books and is interested in the histories of parallel developments in decorative arts and science, medicine, and technology.
Oz Bender
Oz Bender has an M.A. degree in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies from The New School’s Parsons School of Design and focuses on orientalism and nation-building in 19th-century American visual and material culture, and 18th-century French decorative arts. Oz has a BFA in Craft and Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he practiced jewelry-scale metalsmithing, furniture woodwork, and a range of textile arts. He has a passion for rare books and is interested in the histories of parallel developments in decorative arts and science, medicine, and technology.
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Pierre SanonPierre Sanon is a first year MA student in the History of Design and Curatorial studies program at Parsons. Having studied English during his Bachelor’s tenure, Pierre hopes to bring his skills and love of writing and literature synthesis into his curation. Contingent with the design and layout of his website, Pierre hopes to bring a sense of storytelling to curation as a whole, and hopes to one day be able to erect an exhibition within the realm of textiles and fashion at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Pierre Sanon
Pierre Sanon is a first year MA student in the History of Design and Curatorial studies program at Parsons. Having studied English during his Bachelor’s tenure, Pierre hopes to bring his skills and love of writing and literature synthesis into his curation. Contingent with the design and layout of his website, Pierre hopes to bring a sense of storytelling to curation as a whole, and hopes to one day be able to erect an exhibition within the realm of textiles and fashion at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Sunena MajuSunena Maju is an architect, curator, and writer specialising in contemporary design, architecture, and art. With a background in architecture and an MA in History of Design and Curatorial Studies from Parsons School of Design, she has developed a comprehensive understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of curating. Her work spans global contexts, from writing about architecture and design in India to engaging with leading museums in the U.S, including Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Sunena’s expertise lies in identifying emerging design voices and engaging with complex narratives of memory, identity, and diverse cultural practices.
Sunena Maju
Sunena Maju is an architect, curator, and writer specialising in contemporary design, architecture, and art. With a background in architecture and an MA in History of Design and Curatorial Studies from Parsons School of Design, she has developed a comprehensive understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of curating. Her work spans global contexts, from writing about architecture and design in India to engaging with leading museums in the U.S, including Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Sunena’s expertise lies in identifying emerging design voices and engaging with complex narratives of memory, identity, and diverse cultural practices.
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Vincent BoucheVincent Boucher is an MA candidate in the History of Design & Cultural Studies program at The New School/Parsons School of Design. A longtime professional journalist, he is also an undergraduate Lecturer in fashion journalism at Parsons.
Vincent Bouche
Vincent Boucher is an MA candidate in the History of Design & Cultural Studies program at The New School/Parsons School of Design. A longtime professional journalist, he is also an undergraduate Lecturer in fashion journalism at Parsons.