Committees
Services to Historians of Visual Arts Committee
The Services to Historians of Visual Arts Committee identifies and addresses concerns facing historians of art, architecture, design, material culture, and visual culture. It creates and implements programs and events at the conference and beyond. It offers a forum for the discussion of issues of mutual interest across the discipline's many diverse fields and methodologies. In a climate of great threat to the survival of history of art and history of visual arts programs, this committee provides a locus for advocacy issues particular to historians in these areas of interest. The committee lends support and mentorship for both seasoned and emerging professionals. It is also charged with maintaining dialog with other professional organizations and affiliated societies focused on the history of art, architecture, design, material culture, and visual culture.
What do you need right now? How might the Services to Historians of Visual Arts Committee, or the College Art Association, better support you? As described in our committee’s charge above, the Services to Historians of Visual Arts Committee (SHVAC) identifies and addresses concerns facing historians of art, architecture, design, material culture, and visual culture. It creates and implements programs and events at the annual conference and beyond. In a climate of great threat to the survival of history of art and history of visual arts programs, this committee provides a platform for thinking about how to support historians in these areas of interest.
Core to our mission is hearing from historians of visual arts so we can center your most pressing needs in our committee work. At the 2021 conference, we asked attendees of our session: What do historians of visual arts need to thrive in the 21st century? At our 2023 conference session, we asked a related question: If you had to choose one word to describe the most critical issue historians of the visual arts are currently facing, what would it be? Attendees' responses to these questions appear below:
Word cloud representing responses from attendees of SHVAC's CAA conference session, 2021.
Word cloud representing responses from attendees of SHVAC's CAA conference session, 2023.
Want to register your own response to this question? You can add to a future word cloud here. These responses help us generate future programing and initiatives. We also invite you to contact committee chairs with ideas or initiatives.
Current Committee Members
Kathleen Pierce, Chair, Smith College (2025)
Jenna Altomonte, Mississippi State University (2026)Denise Baxter, University of North Texas, CAA Board Liaison, Ex Officio
Rachel Epp Buller, Bethel College (2026)
Chanee Choi, Syracuse University (2026)
Radha Dalal, VCUarts Qatar, CAA Board Liaison, Ex Officio
Sabrina DeTurk, University of Maine (2027)
Brontë Hebdon, Institute of Fine Arts (2026)
Anne Norcross, Ferris State University (2026)
Jennifer W. Olmsted, Wayne State University (2027)
Holiday Powers, VCUarts Qatar (2027)
Carmen Ripollés, Portland State University (2027)