MESDA Summer Institute: The Fall Line

The MESDA Summer Institute is a rigorous multi-disciplinary decorative arts and material culture field school for graduate students, museum professionals, makers, and independent scholars. The 2026 MESDA Summer Institute will use decorative arts and material culture of the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line region–where the Piedmont and Coastal Plain meet–as its laboratory. Summer Institute Fellows spend a month working closely with MESDA’s unparalleled collection and research resources. Using primary-sources and object-based analysis fellows gain experience with decorative arts across a range of media and learn how to create compelling object- and place-based narratives. The curriculum includes lectures and collection studies with leading curators and scholars, hands-on workshops with master craftspeople, and an intensive week-long study through the Fall Line.

Now in its 50th year, the MESDA Summer Institute is offered in partnership with Wake Forest University. Successful fellows earn three graduate credits through the Wake Forest University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Participants are eligible for full fellowships that cover the entire cost of the course, including tuition, housing, and the study trip.

Applications are due March 1, 2026.