Navigating the Driskell Fellowship Through Community and Confidence

By Erin Falker-Obichigha (Cohort ‘22), Zindzi Harley (Cohort ‘24), and Santana Nash (Cohort ‘25)

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The David C. Driskell Fellowship was established in 2010. Dr. Driskell was instrumental in spreading messages of peace and inclusion globally and was a founding member of IDSVA. Each year, one student who shows promise within the field of African American Studies and the African diaspora is awarded the David Driskell Fellowship to carry the mission of equality through art. 

On April 22, 2026, three current David Driskell fellows met via Zoom to discuss their roles in the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA) fellowship program. The most recent recipient of the award, Santana Nash (cohort ‘25), asked a few questions of Erin Falker-Obichigha (cohort ‘22) and Zindzi Harley (cohort ‘24) to gain insight into their journey and experiences of being Driskell fellows. A transcript of the conversation has been provided. 

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Erin Falker-Obichigha:

I am Erin Falker-Obichigha, and I am a Driskell fellow cohort ‘22. I work as a registrar at the Wright Museum in Detroit, but I have also worked as a curator. I've been a programmer. My background is in art history and visual art. So I'm also a practicing visual artist and recovering art historian, and I love everything about it!

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Zindzi Harley:

I'm Zindzi Harley. I am the 2024 Driskell fellow. I'm an independent curator and the creative director of Zindzine, which is a curatorial agency and publication that focuses on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), contemporary artists out of Philadelphia, and my research primarily focuses on Afrofeminist epistemologies and philosophies. I do a lot of work with arts advocacy and programming, consulting with institutions on exhibitions, and community engagement.

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Santana Nash:

I'm Santana Nash. I'm the newest Driskell fellow: 2025. My background is also in art history, so that's what I've been studying for years. I currently work at Georgia Tech as an arts programmer for students. I'm also an adjunct professor of art history. Right now, my research is extremely broad, and I kind of have my foot in everything, so I’m still figuring out what to do when I grow up. I’m extremely inspired by Zindzi and her independent curation. So I've been trying to step into that as well. 

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What does the fellowship mean to you?

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Erin Falker-Obichigha:

Okay, I will go first. Being the chronically low-confident person that I am, and still receiving this fellowship, meant that someone looked at me and saw something that I don't see. And still, to this day, I'm like, what were they thinking? It's really special to be able to look back and see that someone believes in me and my potential and what I can do, even on days when I'm like, I can't. There's always that person or the institution itself behind you, rooting for you, cheering you on. And that really means a lot, especially in times like these.

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Zindzi Harley:

I love that answer. Thank you.

I agree. I feel as though the fellowship is a huge affirmation, acknowledging just the commitment to the work and the intention behind it to continue to steward Driskell's legacy. I think a lot of it is about education and continuing to broaden the representation of black artists within the canon and the work that we're doing, and continuing to steward their livelihoods in so many ways. So I'm very appreciative of it for that reason, and the foundations that it's built on. I also think it really speaks to the possibilities for the program at the University, because we're still so young, so I think it's a genesis point for more students like us. And additionally, I think, for me personally, it's just been a huge proponent of having engaged with such pivotal resources in the field. So I think, getting the opportunity to represent the namesake of the fellowship aligns with the work that I've been doing in terms of putting myself in other spaces to, be endowed and to gain more knowledge and experience in the field, and with my interest, particularly in black museums and spaces that center black artistry, it continues to just build on that aspect of my practice and continued education. 

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Santana Nash:

I resonate with both of those answers. I recently shared my commencement speech draft, and I talked a little bit about imposter syndrome that I have in this program. I am also very nervous about speaking at commencement.

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Zindzi Harley:

You’ll be great! We have all been there. It's gonna be so fun and exciting. And honestly, it's really great because it's the first time you'll get to connect with other fellows. At least for me, it was, I mean, I know we were able to connect ahead of time, but it was the first time I had spoken to them directly. So, you know, it is kind of a jumping-off point for that. And I know we're also working on so much, but I would love for the fellows to convene more often.

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Santana Nash:

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It'll be good. And then I got an invite to an after-party. I'm also quite anti-social, so I gotta step into my socialness haha, but I know it’s going to be a great time. I've also never been to New York, so I'm very excited!

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Zindzi Harley:

Oh, yay. It's gonna reveal another side of IDSVA to you. It made me feel even more excited about the program, because then you get to see the partners that they engage with. You get to see other people who are further along in the program. The last commencement was so dope. It was, like, amazing to me. The performances gave me a new excitement for the program.

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Santana Nash:

Okay, cool. I'm very excited. And last Friday, I got to talk with the board of directors at their meeting, which gave me insight into a different side of IDSVA, and I also got to meet Dr. Deborah Willis, which was great. Meeting with all of them was cool. I feel like this is a different IDSVA than I've been engaging with. So, I'm excited. I'm nervous, but I'm excited. I think it'll be cool. 

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So, I have a personal question to ask. What's next? So you get selected as the Driskell fellow, then what? Did your actions or experiences change? What came next for you? Did you see your work changing? 

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Erin Falker-Obichigha:

I do not actually know. I think it's an important question that we need to continue to ask ourselves. I've been trying to be very intentional about utilizing the resources of the fellowship, like the Driskell Center as an archive for my research. That's something that I intend to push forward in terms of getting towards the dissertation phase. But also, it's about creating that experience where we are. So I've had to really push forward this idea of the fellowship having more substance to it. There's not typically a fellowship that would have more of an objective or culminating, like a project or some sort, you know, or end goal. So that's something that we need to flesh out more. But I also think in terms of the whole idea of how to move forward professionally or as a student, it's important to not feel like too much is put on your shoulders in terms of the fellowship, because you're identified for a reason. And I don't think everything is necessarily because of accolades or accomplishment. I think some of it is about aligning with what the intention of the fellowship is. And so, as students, we can all say we're educators here. We all said that programming and interpretation and pushing that aspect of the work is what we're doing, and that's so much a part of Driskell’s legacy. So we should have a level of confidence in moving with the fellowship as being a representation of the university, and then also not feeling like that means that you're always going to ace every single class right, like you're still going to have the same struggles as any other student trying to just pursue this knowledge and this degree, but at least you know that you have the support of the fellowship, because that's what it should be; a resource and a support for you.

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Zindzi Harley:

Yeah, I like what you were saying about the idea of alignment, like you have to move forward and just believe that you were picked for this for a reason, beyond what you can do in the classroom, and that whatever that thing is that someone saw you doing in the future, right when they pick you for that, it will come and you will get there. And I love the fact that this fellowship, in particular, in the way that it's structured, doesn't pressure you to, like arrive early and make a big scene when you get there, but it's about the journey and about what you learn along the way, for me, I think I've been very intentional about making the work that I'm doing public facing and accessible to like other aspects of my life, just to see what could happen. Driskell was an educator, he was a scholar, but he was also very much a humanist. And like looking at his students and the group of people that he's surrounded himself with as just this core group of humans who needed human connection, right? And so it’s about being connected to not just the institution but the world around you, and seeing where what you're learning in the classroom applies to things that you do every day? And there are a lot of surprises there, so that's what I'm leaning into in terms of what's next. For me, academia will always be there, and it's always an option. But I'm really interested in figuring out how my work can be operationalized outside of a classroom, either outside of a museum, outside of your standard kind of institution, and see what it looks like in the community, because that's the people who need our work.

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Santana Nash:

Thank you. That was beautiful. I love that a lot. It definitely offers me different insights into how to move. I don't know why I was so stressed about what to do next. Or what happens next? But I like those ideas a lot. And I like not being under pressure, having a support system, and a resource. Because I feel like it's easy to step into this and be like, now I've got it. Now I gotta be the best I've ever been in my life. You are still a student and still have struggles each year. I guess I just need to sit with myself and figure out, even, like, this question here, like, what legacy do I want to leave behind? And Erin, I know you just touched on that a little bit. And yeah, I need to ask myself that question. Zinzi, do you have any thoughts on legacy? 

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Zindzi Harley:

That’s an intense question, but I think the legacy that I intend to leave behind is that of just making other people like me feel worthy to do the work at a level that's well supported and allows them to put their best work forward. I think just representation in the field has been a huge thing for me. A lot of my work engages digitally, outside of the institution, to bring people in. And so for me, just like I find it so ironic that  I've been interviewing Dr. Sarah Lewis. I remember years ago, I got on Instagram one day and she followed me. She probably doesn't even remember this or anything, but just like the fact that I feel like the digital space is so ripe with opportunity. I think, in a literal sense, we see how museums and galleries and exhibition spaces are leveraging education and engagement and opportunities for learning and getting to experience the work of art and material culture. For me, a lot of it has been getting to see other black women excel in their careers and offer up very critical contributions to the way that we see the world and make the field more accessible and determine what knowledge can look like. So I think my legacy, I really hope, is to inspire other young black women like myself. I love academia, but I also love going to the museum with my friends and experiencing it from that ground level too, and showing that everybody can have that curatorial experience, and everyone should feel a part of that. That's definitely my goal, and to really cite black women as purveyors of this knowledge as stewards, of artists with an intention of care; doing incredible work within the art realm.

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I feel like the Driskell fellows are very connected. We don't even talk to each other a ton. But when I first looked at the fellowship, I was reading Erin's bio, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is the type of work I want to do. You know what I mean? This is a curatorial bio that I want to be able to aspire to have one day, right? And then, seeing you come into the program and just automatically connecting organically… knowing, there was no other choice, there was no other person that really could step into that role as well suited as you could and I wasn't a part of that process at all. The synchronicity, the alignment that really comes with the fellowship, stewarding these people into opportunities in that way.

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Do you have any other questions for us, since you have us here? 

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Santana Nash:

No, I think that was my main one, because, as Zindzi noted, I was more so thinking this was a traditional fellowship with a culminating project or event. I'm still pursuing support to do my research. I haven't had a breakthrough yet, but I do think I'll eventually be able to do a little more in that regard. 

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Zindzi Harley:

So if there's something you're interested in, I would just say, like, think about it. Let Dr. Simonetta Moro know because I've continued to have conversations with her. If I'm applying for a grant or asking for support for the things I'm doing. Currently, that looks like letters of recommendation. Hopefully, that'll turn into further support. There are also ongoing efforts to organize more. It's a little more organic, but organized in terms of what are like different cohorts of people, what we can do together as a group, so not just kind of formalizing the what you get out of a fellowship, or what is the deliverable of the fellowship, but what the power of having these black intellectuals, people of color, in one room, under one roof, like what we can do with that power and operational so there's an effort to do that as well. That started about a year and a half ago. So there's been some meetings and things.

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Santana Nash:

Please keep me abreast of any meetings or calls with the other fellows, as I would love to be involved. I really want to be intentional with the Driskell fellows. Because, I mean, the amount of brilliance y'all have in your head. I would like to learn a lot more, and learn about what everybody's doing, learn about their thoughts on the coursework, and anything else. 

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Those are my questions. Y'all are fantastic. Thank you so much.