Professor receives second Graham Foundation grant to support book about Phil Freelon
Associate Professor of Architectural History Emily Makaš and independent scholar Arthur J. Clement have received a 2026 grant from Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. One of just 54 grants awarded from more than 600 submissions, the grant will support the publication of their co-edited book, “Philip G. Freelon: Artist, Architect, and Griot.”
A nationally acclaimed North Carolina architect, Freelon was the first African American recipient of the American Institute of Architects’ Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. In a career that spanned more than four decades, he designed museums and cultural facilities focused on the African American experience, including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, Emancipation Park in Houston and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture in Charlotte. Perhaps most notably, he also led the design team for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Makaš and Clement have edited a collection of biography, reflections and scholarly analyses of Freelon’s life and work. The first book to focus on the architect, who died in 2019, it will be published by Louisiana State University Press in 2027. A 2024 grant from the Graham Foundation funded the research and commissioning of contributors; the 2026 grant will support the book’s publication in full color, which is crucial for understanding and appreciating Freelon’s designs.
Makaš is the co-founder of the Center for Community, Heritage and the Arts and will assume the position of Associate Director of the David R. Ravin School of Architecture on July 1. Her research explores connections between memory and identity and the built environment. She serves on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.
Makaš led a team of faculty and students in the development of a series of exhibitions under the title “Container/Contained: Phil Freelon: Design Strategies for Telling African American Stories,” which debuted in 2021 at the Gantt Center in Charlotte and subsequently traveled to the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee and Auburn Avenue Research Library in Atlanta.
About the Graham Foundation
Founded in 1956, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts fosters the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. The Graham realizes this vision through making project-based grants to individuals and organizations and producing exhibitions, events, and publications.
Pictured above, the exhibition “Container/Contained: Phil Freelon: Design Strategies for Telling African American Stories,” installed at the Auburn Avenue Research Library in Atlanta.