Souls Grown Deep Elects Two New Board Members

Souls Grown Deep has announced the election of two new members to its Board of Directors, Kinshasha Holman Conwill and B.E. Noel.

The pair bring decades of experience in advocating for Black artists and in collections management, work which holds potent relevance as Souls Grown Deep continues to steward its renowned collection of works by Black artists from the American South and advance scholarship and impact programs in the region and internationally. Conwill's vision and perspective were instrumental in establishing the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, where she led projects from its programming to the design of its collection during the early planning phases for the museum. Noel, an experienced art advisor and gallerist, facilitates the placement of Black artists' work in museum collections in alignment with SGD's mission of advancing recognition and empowerment of these artists.

“Kinshasha and Noel will add invaluable experience and perspective to the Board of Souls Grown Deep as we cement our position as a leading voice and model for equitable practices in the art world,” said Dr. Maxwell L. Anderson, President of Souls Grown Deep. “For decades, these two women have committed to supporting artists of color and combating the prejudices and socio-economic systems that have preempted them from gaining the recognition they deserve.”

Conwill and Noel join an eminent group of artists and arts advocates dedicated to pursuing equity and recognition for artists and advancing Souls Grown Deep's projects internationally and in the communities that gave rise to these artists. Their election brings the Board to eight elective members: Chair Lola C. West, Co-founder, Chairwoman & Chief Culture Officer of Westfuller, the leading Black-owned, multiracial, gender-diverse, independent, and objective advisory and wealth management firm; artists Amy Sherald, Sanford Biggers, Diedrick Brackens, and Mary Margaret Pettway; and museum curator Valerie Cassel Oliver.

KINSHASHA HOLMAN CONWILL

Kinshasha Holman Conwill has nearly 40 years of arts industry experience and most recently served as deputy director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington D.C. from 2006 to 2022. She now holds the title of deputy director emerita at the Museum.

Prior to joining NMAAHC, she was an arts, museum, and management consultant, and director of The Studio Museum in Harlem from 1988 to 1999, where she conceptualized, organized, or co-organized more than 40 major exhibitions, including an award-winning presentation of contemporary African art at the Venice Biennale. She has formerly held positions as Chairman of the National Museum and Library Services Board, President of ArtTable, and as a board member of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the American Alliance of Museums, and the Association of Art Museum Directors. She has served on the faculties of the Virginia Management Institute, the Harvard University Program for Art Museum Directors, and the Salzburg Seminars. She is a member of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of the Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honor from the French Government. She also served as assistant exhibit coordinator for the Museum of the American Indian in New York City and coordinator of activities for the Frank Lloyd Wright Hollyhock House.

Conwill graduated from Mount Holyoke College as a National Achievement Scholar, received her BFA from Howard University in 1973, and her MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1980. She was lead editor and co-editor for several publications, including Dream A World Anew: The African American Experience and the Shaping of America, Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment, Make Good the Promises: Reclaiming Reconstruction and Its Legacies, and Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures.

B.E. NOEL

B. E. Noel is President of Noel Art Liaison, Inc. NYC/CLT, a fine art advisory service actively developing private and public collections for over 20 years. Prior to this position, she worked as director of her eponymous NOEL GALLERY founded in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1997 with distinct connoisseurship and dedication to the work of foremost contemporary Black artists, working across genre and medium in a global art market.

An exemplary art advisor and artist advocate, Noel has served on the Board of Trustees for The Mint Museum of Art, as Trustee for the Arts & Science Council with positions on Executive and Grant Committees, and as Trustee for Penland School of Craft. She was elected to serve on the Governor's Mansion Fine Arts Committee for North Carolina Governor Michael Easley and has served as a juror for the McColl Artist Residency Program.

Noel has facilitated major museum gifts for artists nationally and internationally.

Prior to pursuing a career in the arts, Noel worked as a Registered Nurse, Nursing Administrator, and Oncology Research Associate at Montefiore Medical Center - Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York, NY.

About Souls Grown Deep

Souls Grown Deep (SGD) advocates the artistic recognition and empowerment of Black artists from the American South, promoting visibility, scholarship, and education about their contributions to art history and fostering economic development and racial and social justice in the communities that gave rise to these artists. Founded in 2010, the organization derives its name from a 1921 poem by Langston Hughes (1902-67) titled The Negro Speaks of Rivers, the last line of which is “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”

Souls Grown Deep stewards the foremost collection of works by Black artists from the Southern United States, and advances recognition for artists through collection transfers, research, loans, exhibitions, education, public programs, and publications. More than 500 works from SGD's collection have been acquired by over 40 museums in the U.S. and around the world, creating new opportunities for public access and scholarship. A leading voice for equitable practices in the art world, SGD works collaboratively with artists and communities to advance their stated needs and goals through support for the creative economy, intellectual property rights, fair compensation models, economic and political empowerment, and values-aligned investing.

For more information, please visit soulsgrowndeep.org.