MESDA Summer Institute Final Presentations

June 26, 2026 Winston-Salem, NC

2026 Summer Institute Final Presentations

For fifty years the MESDA Summer Institute has trained the next generation of southern decorative arts scholars.  Please join us from 10:00am – 2:30pm on Friday, June 26 as the 2026 MESDA Summer Institute students present their original research.  Together with our academic partner, Wake Forest University, the 2026 Summer Institute emphasizes the objects, buildings, and landscapes of the Fall Line region. 

To register, please click here!

Can’t attend, but still want to support MESDA’s educational efforts?  Consider making a gift to MESDA’s Annual Fund or becoming a Friend of MESDA.

 

2026 Final Presentation Schedule: 

10:00 am to 11:10 am Session 1
Jar
John Poole Schermerhorn
Henrico County, Virginia
1828-1830
Salt-glazed stoneware
William C. and Susan S. Mariner Collection (5813.9)

Rebecca Dunnegan
PhD Student, Art History
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX

The William C. and Susan S. Mariner Ceramics Fellowship

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 Crib
Petersburg/Richmond, Virginia
Circa 1825
Gift of the Valentine Museum, Richmond, Virginia (6032.1)

Laura Hollowood
Apprentice Joiner
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Williamsburg, VA
11:20 am to 12:10 pm Session 2

_

 Portable desk
Attributed to the shop of James Beck
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Mahogany, poplar, brass
Partial gift of the Kohn family (6183)

Sarah Bradley
Building Lead and Educator
Old Salem Museums & Gardens
Winston-Salem, NC

The Truslow Family Fellowship

_		 Small chest
Possibly Lunenburg County, Virginia
Circa 1830
Cherry, yellow pine
Old Salem Collection (2722)

Taylor Fischer
Americana Foundation Curatorial Fellow of Maps & Prints
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Williamsburg, VA
12:10 pm Boxed Lunch Break
1:00 pm to 1:50 pm Session 3

_		 Fireboard
Eastern North Carolina
Circa 1780-1850
Wood, canvas, paint
4964

Blaine Howard 
MA Candidate
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, TN

The William C. and Susan S. Mariner Fellowship for Emerging Museum Professionals
Sponsored by the Decorative Arts Trust

_		 Whitework counterpane
Emeline Moore Strayhorn OR Nancy Moore Strayhorn Craig (depending on reading of monogram)
Orange County, North Carolina
1838-1842
Cotton
St. Joe’s and MESDA Purchase Fund (3053)

Dressing table cloth
Nancy Moore Strayhorn Craig
Orange County, North Carolina
1836
Cotton
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Donald Corbett (3315)

Cambra Sklarz
PhD, Art History
University of California, Riverside
Los Angeles, CA

The Carol Holcomb Textile Fellowship
2:00 pm to 2:50 pm Session 4
The Young Carpenter’s Assistant
Owen Biddle
1805
NA2520.B5

With later drawings and notes by George Washington Pearce of Augusta, Georgia

Jabari Jordan-Walker
MA, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
Sparta, GA

The Mills Lane Architectural Fellowship
Cornucopia ornament
Johnson & Reat
Richmond, Virginia
Circa 1810
Silver, gilding
Anonymous gift (5135)

Carolyn Hauk
PhD Candidate, Art History
University of Delaware
Newark, DE

 

 

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