Department alumna Grace Yasumura co-curates current SAAM exhibition "The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture"

A feature article in Maryland Today highlights Grace's essential contribution to this important show

Congratulations to Grace Yasumura, a department alumna (PhD 2019), who is featured in the latest (2/21/25) installment of Maryland Today for her contributions to the current exhibition up at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) as co-curator. In the article Dr. Yasumura, who has served as assistant curator for the past few years at SAAM, comments on a few of the sculptural works in The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture and their power to interrogate and invert tropes of race that have long existed in the fabric of American society.

From the article we got the following insight from Dr. Yasumura: Sculpture, more than other visual art forms, has “an immediate attachment to the body,” said Yasumura. “We recognize ourselves in the work in this really palpable way.” That immediacy, she said, also has the effect of imbuing with authority hierarchies about bodies and physicality—many of which are related to race.

Be sure to read the entire article for more of her insights and to see pictures from the installation.

Congratulations Grace!