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The Graduate School is pleased to announce that David E. Little, Ph.D., is the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award. Little earned his M.A. from Williams College and his B.A. from Bowdoin College before receiving his Ph.D. in art history from Duke University in 2001.
As a member of the first cohort of Duke’s Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Little completed his dissertation, the first historical account of the influential artist collective Collaborative Projects, Inc. (Colab), under the direction of Dr. Kristine Stiles, France Family Distinguished Professor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies.
At Duke, where humanities enrollment has seen a gradual decline over time, Little's recognition serves as an important reminder of the value of humanities fields in providing impactful and intellectual professional careers, as well as the power of art to generate dialogue and social change.
Dr. Little will accept the award and provide the keynote address at The Graduate School’s morning Ph.D. Hooding Ceremony on Saturday, May 10.
Reflections on Duke
Little's time at Duke provided a foundation that continues to shape his career. He found that Duke’s art history program offered true interdisciplinary study, allowing him to take classes across departments, including in English and critical theory.
“[Duke] not only presented the idea of interdisciplinarity, but its professors and the curriculum really lived it,” Little says. “I took advantage of this open intellectual environment. What a rare opportunity to learn from art history professors like Kristine Stiles about feminism and performance art and Richard Powell on West Africa and Jazz; then, at the same moment, learn about postmodernism from Fredric Jameson and queer theory from Eve Sedgewick. Through this process, I was introduced to new histories and ways of thinking. My Duke education taught me the critical skill to synthesize broad swaths of knowledge, which has helped me since in the global art world. During my time at Duke, I also started to work closely with living artists; artists never stop making art, so change happens quickly in the field. So, as a curator and scholar, you have to flexible and agile, to learn new material quickly, and also to have a grounding in fundamental concepts. Duke provided me with those skills and, above all, the confidence in the critical and historical foundation.”
A through line in my career has been access. How can we make museums less intimidating?
David E. Little
Reflecting on his graduate studies, Dr. Little shares some advice with current Duke graduate students.
“Enjoy this time, and really embrace the unique opportunities that you have as a graduate student to immerse yourself in knowledge and to learn about new things. And, it’s also a time to learn about yourself,” Little shares. “Take your time, really enjoy it, because it’s rare to have several years dedicated solely to do this kind of deep thinking. Listen, really listen. And learn from others, particularly your professors. Remain open to topics and ideas that you might not have known about in the past. This is a time when you can take risks.”
A Key Player in the Industry
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Throughout his career, spanning over 25 years, Little has held significant leadership roles at major cultural institutions, including at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA), the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, and the International Center of Photography (ICP).
Museum of modern art: 2003-2007
At MoMA, Little served as the first Director of Adult and Academic Programs from 2003 to 2007. Leveraging his knowledge and expertise, he developed innovative programs, including the popular MoMA courses.
He collaborated with MoMA’s seven departmental chief curators and staff to expand the audience for exhibitions and deepened ties with academic institutions in New York City and internationally, cultivating the next generation of artists, visitors, and art scholars. He hired and mentored young scholars as lecturers and interns; many have gone on to successful careers in museums and academia.
Whitney Museum of American Art: 2007-2008
As Associate Director and Helena Rubenstein Chair of Education at the Whitney Museum of American Art from 2007 to 2008, Little provided vision for the Education Department and contributed to senior management planning for the museum's expansion to the High Line.
Inspired by the education programs of former Whitney educator, performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson, he reinvented the department as an open studio with an emphasis on living artists as central catalysts for programming and interpretation. He initiated a strategic plan for the department and secured a significant endowment for community and outreach programs.
Minneapolis Institute of Art: 2008-2015
From 2008 to 2015, Little was Curator and Department Head of Photography and New Media at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Here, he focused on expanding the museum’s contemporary art holdings, adding artists such as Stan Douglas, Boris Mikhailov and Penelope Umbrico to the collection. He organized notable exhibitions like The Sports Show: Athletics as Image and Spectacle (2012), which received national media coverage, and launched the New Pictures contemporary photography series.
Mead Art Museum, Amherst College: 2015-2021
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As the John Wieland 1958 Director and Chief Curator at the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College from 2015 to 2021, Little led the strategic vision, curated the collection, and served in a leadership role for museum staff. He actively engaged staff, faculty, and students to shape interdisciplinary programs, exhibitions, and collections. Little also successfully fundraised for endowments, acquisitions, and initiated a feasibility study for a new museum. A notable achievement in this role was conceptualizing and building an open storage classroom, providing students and faculty unique access to the museum's collection.
“A through line in my career has been access. How can we make museums less intimidating? As a museum professional, collection storage is a special joy. It is like browsing the library stack. I always wanted everyone to be able to have access to collections, to be among the vast art collections that museums cannot display because of limited space,” Little said.
International Center of Photography: 2021-2024
Most recently, Little served as Executive Director of the International Center of Photography (ICP) from 2021 to 2024. He led the institution's relaunch in a new building after COVID-19 closures and focused on archival research, education, and spotlighting ICP’s collection through critically acclaimed exhibitions. He completed ICP's first strategic plan since 2016, attracted significant media coverage, and diversified the Board of Trustees.
A Career Characterized by Collaboration
Little's consulting work, which began in December 2024, includes advising artists, collectors, and museums while he works on a book project based on his dissertation research. He notes that his perspective on collaboration has evolved significantly since his doctoral research, gaining a deeper understanding of artists, the art world, and the historical context of Colab.
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“I've been fortunate in the past, and now going forward in my career, to work with artists of different generations,” Little says. “Once you work with them, they're part of your history, and you're part of their history. Sometimes you’re co-creating. I'm trying to negotiate a successful art project or program, and it is a balance between understanding the goals of the artist and the mission of the museum.”
Looking Ahead
Teaching and lecturing, as they have always been, continue to be foundational to Little’s work and career. He recently received support for a book project on Japanese photographers who photographed Okinawa in the post war.
“I started to collect Japanese photography at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and part of my research brought me to Naha, the capital of the Okinawa Prefecture, in 2012 to interview Shōmei Tōmatsu, one of Japan’s most revered post-war photographers. It also turned out to be a personal trip. My father was in the Army and my family was stationed in Okinawa, where I was born and lived the first six months of my life. Fast forward almost 50 years, and here I was on a plane to my birthplace. Honestly, I never thought I would return. But I heard Tōmatsu was ill, and I was desperate to meet him. I am happy that I had that honor and good fortune. Tōmatsu died only a few months later, and that meeting only made me more determined to study Okinawa. I discovered that nearly all of Japan’s great post-war photographers, and many emerging photographers, traveled to Okinawa to photograph its islands. The project will look at the many ‘Okinawas,’ as Okinawa has always been a contested site of sovereignty, cultural meaning, and identity.”
Please join The Graduate School in honoring Dr. Little with the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award for his impactful career in the arts and museum world, his commitment to mentorship, and his continued engagement with scholarly research.