The Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies has announced its Gillespie Curatorial Fellows in Shakespeare and the Book for 2025-26.

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The competitive fellowship offers an opportunity for advanced undergraduate and graduate students to work with one of the most significant private Shakespeare collections in America. Fellows Katharine Cognard-Black and Abbi Andrews will learn all aspects of curatorial practice in order to produce a special exhibit that tells new stories and forges new directions in the study of Shakespeare and the book.

A first-year doctoral student in English with a focus in early modern drama, Cognard-Black is also a director, dramaturg, and theater deviser. Her research interests sit at the intersection of editorial history, performance practice and feminist criticism. She is curious about how Shakespeare’s editors have had the power to amplify or remove details regarding the specificity of language and presence of characters on the page, and what ramifications those choices have had on legacies of Shakespeare in performance. 

Andrews is a sophomore double-majoring in English and theater with a minor in education. Their academic interests include Indigenous identities, art, as well as Renaissance and Romantic literatures. They are pursuing questions of indigeneity, decolonization and multicultural performances of Shakespeare across time. 

Their exhibits will open at the Kinney Center in April 2026. More information about the Gillespie Curatorial Fellowship can be found here.