Dr. Julia Alexander

Biography

Julia is a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in Modern Contemporary Art and the African Diaspora. She is research-driven with a strong commitment to highlighting underrepresented art historical narratives of the African Diaspora, particularly focusing on artists based in the United Kingdom. Julia aims to reveal themes related to sexual violence, identity, displacement, and the movement of spirituality within the Atlantic Ocean diaspora. She holds an M.Sc. degree in Modern Contemporary Art: History, Curating, Criticism from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Her thesis examined Operation Peter Pan—a joint initiative of the CIA and the Catholic Church that affected the work of Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta between 1960 and 1962—and demonstrated how Mendieta's subsequent artworks reflect the ideologies and iconographies of neglect, abandonment, and abuse that shaped the experience of the 14,000 children who became refugees in the United States.

Research Interests