Inclusivity in Isolation

Meet the Speakers

(listed alphabetically)

Myrtis Bedolla, Founding Director, Galerie Myrtis and Former Board Member, Association of African American Museums

Myrtis Bedolla possesses over 30 years of experience as an advisor to private collectors, and public and private institutions in the acquisition and deaccession of fine art; and provides professional curatorial services, lectures and educational programming to corporate, civic and arts organizations. Bedolla is the recipient of the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, African Language Institute, Shona Language and Culture, from Michigan State University; holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland, University College, and received her curatorial training at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, and earned an on-line certificate in Cultural Theory for Curators from the Node Center for Curatorial Studies, Berlin, Germany. Bedolla is a member of ArtTable and a board member of the Association of African American Museums.

Tuliza Fleming, Interim Chief Curator of Visual Arts, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution

Tuliza Fleming is the Curator of American Art at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). She played a critical role in building the Museum’s art collection, served as lead curator for the inaugural exhibition Visual Art and the American Experience (2016), curated Clementine Hunter: Life on Melrose Plantation (2018), and co-curated Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment (2010). Prior to her current position, she was the Associate Curator of American Art at the Dayton Art Institute. Fleming received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Maryland.

Cecile Shellman, Museum DEAI Consultant; Moderator

Cecile Shellman is a full-time consultant in diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) for museums. She recently worked for the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh on the Senior Staff (Institute Leadership Team), heading DEAI initiatives for the Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and Andy Warhol Museum. She specializes in group diversity and inclusion training, leadership counseling, public speaking, and workshop facilitation. Other projects draw from Shellman’s vast experience in exhibition development, exhibition project management, museum education, and curation.  Shellman’s current and past clients include the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Utah Museums Association, The Frick Pittsburgh, Westmoreland Museum of American Art, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. In 2019, she was named one of ten Senior Fellows for DEAI at the American Alliance of Museums.

The program is organized and presented by the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) Foundation and Association of African American Museums (AAAM). The information presented here is subject to change without notice. The organizers assume no responsibility for any errors that may appear here, and in no event shall the organizers be liable for incidental or consequential damages arising from use of this document or other program-related material. This document and parts thereof must not be reproduced or copied without the organizers providing written permission, and contents thereof must not be imparted to a third party nor be used for any unauthorized purpose.


Photo of Myrtis Bedolla courtesy of Stephen Spartana.