Dr Kate Cowcher
Lecturer in Art History
Biography
I have been a Lecturer in Art History since 2018. Prior to joining St Andrews, I was Post-Doctoral Fellow in Modern and Contemporary Art at the University of Maryland Center for Art and Knowledge at the Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.
I have a PhD (2017) from Stanford University, an MA (2009) from the Courtauld institute of Art and an MA (2005) from University of Edinburgh. In August 2022, I was made a member of the RSE's Young Academy of Scotland.
Research areas
I am historian of art from Africa, with a particular focus on Ethiopia, and on modern and contemporary practices. I am currently writing my first book, titled 'Beyond the Feudal Fog: Art and Revolution in Ethiopia.' This project engages my broader research interests in the arts of revolution, Cold War cultures, African socialism and cultural exchange between Africa and the Eastern bloc.
My other research interests include the historiography of African art study, particularly during the Cold War period, histories of African cinema, African art in the jet age, and collections of both historic and modern art from Africa in the UK.
In addition to this, I am leading an ongoing project focused on twelve works of modernist art from East Africa housed in the Argyll Collection on the west coast of Scotland. See www.dartodunoon.com for more information.
PhD supervision
- Logan Douglas
- Kateryna Volochniuk
- Alex Flagg
- Weerada Muangsook
- Federica Papiccio
Selected publications
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All that glitters is not gold: genealogies of realism in Ethiopia, and beyond
Cowcher, K. E., 1 Mar 2024, Was socialist realism global? : Modernism, soc-modernism and socially engaged figuration. Lipska, M. & Slodkowski, P. (eds.). Warsaw: Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, (Museum under construction).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Open access
Naomi Mitchison, Sam J. Ntiro and modern African art in rural Scotland
Cowcher, K. E., 28 Feb 2024, In: Oxford Art Journal. 46, 3, p. 427-450 24 p., kcad029.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Catherine Gombe's 'Youth' (1965) and printmaking at Makerere University in the independence era
Cowcher, K. E., 15 Nov 2023, post: notes on art in a global context. New York: The Museum of Modern ArtResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Other contribution
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Open access
Places We Love: Art and the Ukrainian East
Donovan, V. S., Tsymbalyuk, D., Spencer, C. E. & Cowcher, K. E., 18 Jun 2022Research output: Non-textual form › Exhibition
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Sam Joseph Ntiro, Skunder Boghossian and modern African art in turbulent times
Cowcher, K. E., 25 Oct 2022, African modernism in America. Lathrop, P. M. (ed.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, p. 37-44 8 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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A postcard from Addis: Ethiopian modernism(s) in the world
Cowcher, K., 25 Mar 2021, New histories of art in the global postwar era: multiple modernisms. Frigeri, F. & Handberg, K. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 149-163 15 p. (Studies in art historiography).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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African films and FESPACO
Cowcher, K. E., 26 May 2021, Oxford research encyclopedia of African history. Spear, T. (ed.). Oxford: Oxford University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary
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Art, Socialism and Solidarity at the International Congress of Africanists, 1962-1973
Cowcher, K. E., 3 Aug 2021, In: African Arts. 54: 3, Autumn 2021, p. 14 27 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Dar to Dunoon: Modern African Art from the Argyll Collection
Cowcher, K. E., 21 May 2021Research output: Non-textual form › Exhibition
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Socialism, heritage and internationalism after 1945. The Second World and beyond
Bekus, N. & Cowcher, K., 9 Dec 2020, In: International Journal of Heritage Studies. 26, 12, p. 1123-1131 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review