August Jordan Davis

Dr. August Jordan Davis is a tenured Associate Professor of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she also chairs the Department of Art and Art History and directs The Gallery at UTA. Previously, she held posts in the UK—including Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for the MA in Contemporary Curation at the Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton—and has curated more than thirty exhibitions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Education

• PhD, Art History, University of Liverpool, 2011 – Dissertation: Bringing the War Back Home: Martha Rosler's photomontages (1967–2008)
• MA (Distinction), Visual Arts in Contemporary Culture, Keele University, 1997
• BFA, Art History (French & studio arts minors), University of North Texas, 1995

Research & Creative Focus
Dr. Davis specializes in twentieth- and twenty-first-century North American and Western European art, with particular attention to the convergence of art and politics, activist practices, and feminist theory. Her curatorial research interrogates dissent, global identities, and the roles of exhibition-making in social transformation.

Recent scholarly strands include:

• Contemporary artists responding to conflict and migration
• Feminist re-readings of land art and institutional critique
• Curatorial methodologies that foreground marginalized voices

Publications & Exhibitions Trajectory
Across peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Third Text), edited volumes, and critically acclaimed exhibitions, Davis has sustained a dual practice as scholar-curator. Her projects consistently link rigorous historical analysis with innovative public programming—ranging from the Venice Biennale collateral exhibition Otherwise Occupied to UTA’s ongoing The 2040 Project.

Honors, Grants & Fellowships

• Fellow, Texas Academic Leadership Academy (2021)
• Art Bridges Foundation Grant, $9,000 (2023)
• Humanities Texas Grant (2019)
• Museums & Galleries Bursary Award, Association of Art Historians UK (2012)
• Fellow, UK Higher Education Authority
• Member, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society

Advising & Grants Mentorship
At UTA she supervises MA theses and doctoral comprehensive exams; previously she guided six PhD candidates to successful completion at Winchester School of Art. She has secured or co-managed over £150,000+ in external funding for exhibitions, research symposia, and public programs.

Laboratories, Galleries & Teams
Davis directs The Gallery at UTA, a 3,000-square-foot professional venue that mounts up to ten exhibitions annually, and she founded the Winchester Centre for Global Futures in Art Design & Media while in the UK. She collaborates with the Arlington Museum of Art, serves on the Downtown Arlington Cultural Partners Committee, and advises multiple national arts organizations.