As the recipient of the Jameson Fellowship for American Painting and Decorative Arts, Jessie Li will spend the next academic year as a researcher at the Bayou Bend Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts and receive a $13,000 stipend.
Double majoring in art history and architecture, Jessie explains her motivation for undergoing research at the Bayou Bend Collection:
"As someone who is seeking for a path of the future, I can see my career lie in the middle ground of architecture and art, both of which I have deep passion for. As an art historian I would be able to get in touch with one of the most precious decorative art collections from seventeenth to nineteenth century: the studies of first-hand material will provide me with valuable experience, the design of exhibition will familiarize me with curatorial practice and the institutional environment will allow me to understand the mechanism of a museum.
As an architect the very nature of a house museum will inspire me to consider the context differently. New architectures erect from the ground everyday in this world, and the ability to appreciate pre-existing structures is a priceless asset of architects and sometimes an opportunity to produce harmonious work."