The Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati is marking the 40th anniversary of its Duncanson Artist-in-Residence Program in 2026. Established in 1986 through a partnership between the museum and the Robert S. Duncanson Society, the program honored poet Nikki Giovanni as its inaugural resident. Over four decades, it has recognized nationally and internationally acclaimed artists who connect with the museum’s legacy of American art.

Figurative painter Ayana Ross is the 2026 Duncanson Artist-in-Residence. Her exhibition, titled “Beyond the Picturesque,” is scheduled to open April 11 at the Taft Museum. Previous residents include jazz vocalist Kathy Wade and musician Tracy Walker, both of whom reflected on the program’s significance in a February 2 broadcast on WVXU Cincinnati Public Radio’s Cincinnati Edition podcast.

Looking ahead, the museum plans a retrospective exhibition in 2027, co-organized with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, to examine the program’s four-decade history. The Duncanson residency takes its name from Robert S. Duncanson, the 19th-century African American landscape painter whose work is part of the Taft Museum’s permanent collection.

Source: WVXU Cincinnati Public Radio