David J. Getsy, the Eleanor Shea Professor of Art History, has been awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship, recognizing his groundbreaking research at the intersection of art history, queer studies, trans studies and performance studies. Getsy’s work has significantly contributed to understanding how non-normative genders and sexualities have shaped art and cultural history.
Getsy, who joined the UVA faculty in 2021, has focused his recent research on performance and art in the 1970s and 1980s. His latest book, “Queer Behavior: Scott Burton and Performance Art,” received the 2023 Robert Motherwell Book Award for outstanding publication in the history and criticism of modernism in the arts.
Getsy’s new research delves into the often-overlooked world of street performances in New York City during the 1970s. Marked by the rise of the gay rights movement and clashes between protesters and law enforcement in New York City in 1969 known as the Stonewall Uprising, this period of American history saw a surge in visibility for queer and trans communities. Getsy’s project investigates how performance artists of the time used the streets as a stage to engage with new audiences and assert their presence in public life.
“David Getsy’s bold and innovative research exemplifies the type of interdisciplinary scholarship we value at UVA,” said Christa Acampora, dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. “His work expands the boundaries of art history, challenging and reshaping the ways we think about identity, culture, and representation in profound and urgent ways.”
Given to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exemplary creative ability in the arts, the Guggenheim Fellowship will provide Getsy with the support needed to complete his current project and dedicate more time to his research, furthering his work to recover histories of public engagement that are in danger of being lost.
Reflecting on the impact of the fellowship, Getsy said, “This award makes a big impact. The Guggenheim Fellowship is particularly significant because it spans the arts, humanities, the sciences and the social sciences – the full range of human inquiry. It is interdisciplinary in the broadest possible sense, and it signals that one’s work is contributing to wider discussions beyond an individual field of study.”
Data Science Professor Selected as a 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellow
Jess Reia, an assistant professor of data science, received a 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. Endowed by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program was established in 2015 to provide philanthropic support to extraordinary scholars and writers for high-caliber research in the humanities and social sciences.
Reia, who also serves as a faculty co-lead at the UVA Digital Technology for Democracy Lab, is one of 26 fellowship winners in the Class of 2025 chosen from more than 300 nominees. Each recipient receives a $200,000 stipend to support research aimed at understanding how and why society has become polarized, and identifying ways to strengthen cohesion and fortify democracy.
Jess Reia, a faculty co-lead at the UVA Digital Technology for Democracy Lab, is one of 26 Carnegie Fellowship winners chosen from more than 300 nominees. (UVA School of Data Science photo)
The award is for a period of up to two years, and the anticipated result is generally a book or major study.
Reia’s project, “Building Bridges and Re-imagining Responses to Fight Anti-Trans Polarization in the U.S.,” will investigate the role of digital technologies – especially those relying on big data and artificial intelligence models – in the growing polarization around gender identity.
They will explore how media, legislation and policy both shape and reflect societal attitudes toward gender identity, while researching how gender minorities tell their stories, preserve their memories and contribute to data collection initiatives that affirm their visibility.
Reia’s studies have revolved around topics of data justice, urban governance and technology policy transnationally. For the past decade, their research and advocacy agenda has focused on fostering dialogues between academia, government and civil society in three countries: Brazil, Canada and the United States.
“I’m absolutely thrilled and so proud of Jess for receiving this incredible honor,” Phil Bourne, Stephenson Dean of the School of Data Science, said. “It’s a testament to the work they’re doing, and brings great credit to the School of Data Science. It is what we aspire to do and be.”
