My name is Mattie Hough and I am a first year MA in the Art History program. I am from Mount Holly, North Carolina and earned a BA in Art and Visual Culture with a concentration in Art History from Appalachian State University. Following my undergraduate coursework, I was a collections and research intern at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC. My main area of research in undergrad was contemporary art, specifically artists who challenged both political and social inequalities including several queer artists in South Africa and their impact on post-apartheid society. I intend to continue research in this area by exploring the role that artists have in our current political climate as well as expanding into art institutions and how they impact how we view artist’s work.