Stewarding arts philanthropy
Priya Menon ’16 is getting an education on giving. The 21-year-old earned one of Dumbarton Oaks’ new humanities fellowships, which partner young scholars with nonprofit cultural institutions in the Washington, D.C. area to explore the interworking of art, cultural life, and diplomacy. “It’s a fascinating environment because of the urgency of the work,” said Menon, who spends most of her time at the Folger Shakespeare Library. “It’s not that the resources are scarce, but I am thinking about how to do things in the most effective way possible.” An offshoot from a 2015 Wintersession course called “Culture and Power: Art, Philanthropy, and Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century,” the fellowship works this way: Young Harvard College graduates spend a large part of the fall and winter at a partner cultural organization, then work on research projects at Dumbarton Oaks in the spring. “We’ve had a number of highly talented people who have been very committed...