NYC Gazette

Three women from CUNY’s faculty have won prestigious Guggenheim Fellowships in recognition of their groundbreaking contributions to the arts and humanities. This year’s CUNY Guggenheim fellows are interdisciplinary artist Bang-Guel Han and philosophy scholar Barbara Montero, both of the College of Staten Island, and art historian Claire Bishop, of the CUNY Graduate Center.

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez congratulated the professors, stating, “We congratulate Professors Han, Bishop and Montero for their selection as recipients of the highly coveted Guggenheim Fellowship. Not only are they dynamic changemakers producing innovative, influential work in their respective fields, they are also devoted faculty members who educate and inspire the next generation of scholars.”

Bang-Guel Han, an associate professor at the College of Staten Island, expressed her feelings about being a Guggenheim Fellow, saying, “The list of recipients contains so many amazing people – I feel humbled to be in the same company. I feel elated and honored.” Han will be working on a new interdisciplinary art project as part of her fellowship, exploring the sociopolitical and cultural dimensions of body and language.

Barbara Montero, a philosophy professor at the College of Staten Island and the University of Notre Dame, shared her excitement about the recognition, stating, “I feel ecstatic that my work was recognized as worthy of support.” Montero’s Guggenheim project involves writing a book on metaphysics and the mind-body problem.

Claire Bishop, a prolific scholar and contemporary art critic, expressed her gratitude for being named a Guggenheim Fellow, saying, “So many great scholars have been Guggenheim Fellows, and there are so many I admire on the list of fellows this year. It’s terrific to be in that company.” Bishop's forthcoming book aims to explore changing patterns of attention in contemporary art and performance.

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation selected 188 fellows in 52 disciplines from nearly 3,000 applicants this year. Scholars are honored for their work in various fields, receiving a stipend to pursue independent projects. Previous Guggenheim Fellowship recipients include notable figures like James Baldwin, Rachel Carson, and Martha Graham.

The City University of New York, where the three educators are based, is recognized as the nation’s largest urban public university, playing a crucial role in social mobility and contributing significantly to New York City's cultural and economic landscape.