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2020-2022: Sophia Abrams

Sophia Abrams was Student Historian from 2020-2022 and her research centered on Black Student Artists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sophia Abrams

Hello, I am Sophia Abrams (she/her), and I am one of the Student Historians for the University Archives for this academic year. Upon receiving this role, I was excited to have the opportunity to utilize the University Archives to discover and share important underrepresented and under-researched narratives of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Given the momentum of 2020’s resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19’s exceptional ability to showcase the world’s inequities, this opportunity felt relevant and essential for me on a personal level.

Read more of Sophia’s “The Storm of Ideas: From Brainstorming to Having a Research Topic“

Watch the College of Letters & Science 2022 Black History Month video featuring Sophia.

Sophia wrote a culminating paper: Black Student Artists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, not deposited in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives collections in our institutional repository, MINDS@UW

In the 2020/2021 academic year, Sophia conducted 18 oral history interviews, 15 of which will be archived (one withdrawal, two did not submit releases). The 15 oral history interviews have been published online:

  • Baylor, Trenton: UW-Parkside Professor Trenton Baylor discusses his time at UW-Madison as an art graduate student. Baylor discusses his experiences as a Black student, how he developed his artistic process, his inspirations, and his art shows while at UW-Madison.
  • Buie, Tyanna:
    In her December 2020 interview with Sophia Abrams, Professor Tyanna Buie talks about her experience as a graduate student studying printmaking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the early 2000s. She talks about how Gelsey Verna and Freida High were notable professors who aided her time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She discusses her artistic endeavors and how her art responded to the community. 
  • Cleaves, Roger Allan:
    Roger Allan Cleaves talks about his time as a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying painting. He talks about his coffee drawings and how afro-futurism influenced his work. He talks about what it meant to be a Black male artist in the early 2000s at the University.
  • Coley, Shiloah:
    In her 2021 interviews with Sophia Abrams, Shiloah Coley speaks on her experiences as a black undergraduate student at UW-Madison, specifically centered on faculties such as the Art Department and the School of Journalism. She discusses how her passions and critical questioning developed over her years at the university, and how she utilized classes to combine her passions in research, sociology, ethnography, art, and journalism, while also engaging with the community. She also talks about navigating her experiences as one of the few black people in academic spaces, and how it made her develop confidence in her identity.
  • Crane, Tanya:
    Tanya Crane discusses the path to her Masters of Fine Arts show, her experiences with a wide variety of artistic mediums and styles, and the UW-Madison community.
  • Cruickshank, Vivian:
    UW-Madison alumna Vivian Cruickshank discusses her experiences coming to UW from a small Wisconsin town, her journey through art programs at UW, the progression of her career, and her experiences as a Black artist.
  • Dodson, Auzzie:
    Auzzie Dodson discusses their time at UW-Madison, decision to pursue a degree in art, and struggles with race and gender identity.
  • Drier, Gillian:
    In her January 2021 interview with Sophia Abrams, Gillian Drier talks about her time as an undergraduate studying graphic design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 2010s. She talks about her impressions of UW and how her work was received by her peers and professors. She talks about the curriculum lacking diversity. She talks about Black Lives Matter in 2015 and at the time of the interview. She talks about the importance of studying abroad. She elaborates about what it meant to be a young Black woman studying graphic design in the 2010s at the UW. She talks about her BFA Show.
  • Floyd-Pruitt, Anwar:
    In his January 2021 interview with Sophia Abrams, Anwar Floyd-Pruitt talks about trading in his corporate career for art. First, receiving his BFA at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and then attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his MFA. He talks about his artistic style and prevalent themes in his work. He talks about being an untraditional graduate student who was in his early 40s when he started his MFA. He talks about his 2020 Chazen Prize Show and what it was like to be a Black man studying art at the University in the 2020s.
  • Jackson, Alex:
    UW-Madison Alumnus Alex Jackson discusses his time at UW in the art department, a study abroad experience in Italy, his experiences as an artist in residence at Yale, and the lasting impact UW has had on his career. 
  • Katelansky, Jay:
    Artist and UW-Madison graduate, Jay Katelansky, reflects on her decision to pursue a graduate degree in art at UW-Madison, her experience as a Black student and artist in Madison, her travels to Berlin and London, and the exhibitions of her works. She describes her difficulties confronting racism in Madison, her ability to find likeminded people through the First Wave Program, the impact of travel and literature on her art, and the responses from the Madison community to public displays of her art. 
  • Kennedy Jr., Amos: UW-Madison bookmaking alumnus Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. discusses his non-traditional journey to graduate school, his development as an artist, and his views on the lack of diversity at UW-Madison in this 2021 interview with Sophia Abrams.
  • Matumbi, Taj:
    Taj Matumbi discusses his time at UW as an Masters of Fine Arts student, his complicated relationship with race, the expression of that relationship through his work, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Nsoroma, Adjua:
    Adjua Nsoroma talks with Sophia Abrams about her undergraduate experience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a First Wave Scholar who studied Textiles and Fashion Design. She talked about her artistic endeavors pre-college and how she utilized her time in the Studio Learning Community to further her artistic approach through fashion design and painting. She talked about how her peers and professors’ responded to her work. She talked about navigating post-college life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Ritter-Perry, Beth:
    Beth Ritter-Perry talks about coming to Madison in the 1980s to get her MFA. She talks about experimenting with different mediums of art and how people responded to her as a Black woman artist. Ritter-Perry explains how she got into silkscreens and her graduate research. She also emphasizes the importance of Professor High. She further discusses her activities while at the university, focusing on art, activism, and socializing. 

Sophia continued her work during the 2021/2022 academic year, choosing to focus on outreach and education, culminating in several exhibits Sophia curated featuring several of the Black artists Sophia had interviewed for her oral history project.

To explore more of Sophia’s work: