Mellon Foundation Grants Awarded to Tara Dudley and Charles L. Davis II
Associate Professor Charles L. Davis II and Assistant Professor Tara A. Dudley have each been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation in support of research that advances our understanding of and exposure to untold histories and communities through architecture and the built environment.
Since its establishment in 1969, the Mellon Foundation has become one of the nation’s most prominent supporters of the arts and humanities. Through its grants, the Mellon Foundation seeks to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive.
“These grants reflect the strength of our faculty’s leadership in architectural history and preservation,” said Heather Woofter, Dean of The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. “Tara’s recent preservation work continues to elevate untold architectural history in Austin, and beyond, and Charles is uniting prominent voices while honoring those too long overlooked. Together, their scholarship expands how we study, teach, and care for the built environment.”
Charles L. Davis II: The Black Space Project
Charles Davis, Associate Professor of Architectural History, has received Mellon Foundation support for “The Black Space Project,” an interdisciplinary project that seeks to pluralize the historiography of Black architectural modernity through exhibitions, symposia, publications, and workshops.
Blending digital humanities, oral history, and architectural documentation, the project aims to create a digital archive of non-licensed contributions to the built environment. Working in partnership with local organizations such as e4 Youth and the Jacob Fontaine Religious Museum, Davis’ team will document historic East Austin sites, digitally storing 2D and 3D architectural drawings, photogrammetry, and oral histories gathered directly from community members. These narratives and visual records will be made publicly accessible through a dedicated website, helping to preserve cultural memory while empowering residents to retain ownership of their historical materials.
In future phases, “The Black Space Project” will delve into “The Modern Space of the Black Church,” examining unconventional worship spaces and their role in cultural and political movements—from gospel blues to civil rights activism. An original public art piece will accompany this phase, serving as a catalyst for oral history collection across Austin and Central Texas.
Davis first launched the Black Space Project through a symposium and exhibition organized with the Center for American Architecture and Design. Entitled “The Black Home as Public Art,” the symposium examined creative notions of the Black home in the United States.
Tara A. Dudley: Fostering Intersections in the Black Built Environment
Tara Dudley, Assistant Professor of Interior Design and Architectural History, has been named a recipient of the Mellon Foundation’s New Directions Fellowship, which assists humanities faculty in acquiring systematic training outside their areas of special interest. Dudley’s proposal, “Fostering Intersections in the Black Built Environment,” outlines a comprehensive three-year course of interdisciplinary study that will expand her expertise in African and African Diaspora Studies, public history, and digital humanities.
Known for her award-winning book, “Building Antebellum New Orleans,” which examines the overlooked contributions of free people of color to the city's early architecture, Dudley’s next major project will focus on African American builders and architects in Austin from its founding through the Jim Crow era. Her research seeks to expand the architectural canon and promote a more equitable environment for future architects, designers, and historians.
Through targeted training in Black Studies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), museum exhibition design, and public history methodologies, Dudley will translate her research into accessible and impactful public programming, enhance her classroom offerings, and launch digital platforms that make research on the Black built environment more widely accessible. Her fellowship promises to deepen cross-disciplinary collaborations between the School of Architecture and the UT Austin African and African Diaspora Studies Department, while also modeling how architectural history can serve as a tool for change.
