Lois Biggs

University of Leeds Postgraduate Award, University of Leeds - Art History

Lois is a Cherokee and White Earth Ojibwe researcher and museum worker. She recently graduated from Northwestern University, where she wrote a thesis on the visual and literary culture of the Alcatraz occupation. At Northwestern, Lois worked for the Block Museum of Art, served as co-president of Northwestern’s Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance and spun records at the university’s radio station. Lois plans to build on her professional experiences at the Block, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Whitney Museum of American Art by working as a curator. She will look to craft exhibitions that centre Native American and Indigenous perspectives and will work toward structural change in the museum world. Lois is excited to continue her studies at the University of Leeds, in a department renowned for cutting-edge art historical research. The department’s emphasis on connections between the art and the social worlds will support her dissertation research and prepare her for future curatorial projects. Outside of the classroom, Lois looks forward to exploring Leeds’s thriving independent music scene and getting used to biking on the opposite side of the road!