We are pleased to introduce The Beauford Delaney Project, a new digital humanities initiative dedicated to advancing scholarship, fostering creative engagement, and expanding public access to the life and legacy of Beauford Delaney (1901–1979).
The project’s new digital home may be explored here:
For more than sixteen years, the French nonprofit association Les Amis de Beauford Delaney has been our close partner in preserving and expanding Beauford’s legacy. Even before WIF existed, the Les Amis de Beauford Delaney blog served as a space for sharing research, archival discoveries, historical reflections, and scholarly dialogue concerning Delaney’s life and work.
The creation of The Beauford Delaney Project marks an important evolution of that effort, providing a broader framework through which research, education, and public humanities initiatives can be developed and shared.
At its core, the project is guided by a simple but important premise: that the study of Beauford Delaney’s life and artistic achievement offers rich opportunities for interdisciplinary inquiry while also serving as a catalyst for educational and community engagement.
As one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century, Beauford’s life invites exploration across multiple fields, including art history, African American and Black Diaspora studies, and LGBTQ+ studies. His experiences in Knoxville, Boston, New York, and Paris provide valuable points of entry into broader conversations about creativity, migration, identity, race, transnational exchange, and artistic community.
Through the Beauford Delaney Project, WIF seeks to support and encourage these conversations while making scholarship more accessible to audiences beyond traditional academic settings. We also intend to expand the range of scholarly exploration of Beauford’s life and work into less conventional disciplines such as cultural geography, art therapy, and music.
A Foundation for Future Scholarship and Public Engagement
This project has been conceived as a long-term initiative that will bring together students, scholars, artists, educators, and community members through a range of interconnected activities.
Among its areas of focus are:
- The development of a digital platform that supports scholarship, research dissemination, and public engagement;
- Educational initiatives that connect students to Delaney’s life and artistic practice;
- Opportunities for experiential learning through travel and cultural exchange;
- Support for emerging scholarship through future fellowship and scholarship initiatives;
- Creative projects that explore new approaches to interpreting and sharing Delaney’s legacy.
In this respect, The Beauford Delaney Project reflects a growing movement within the humanities to bridge the divide between academic scholarship and public audiences, ensuring that knowledge is both rigorously developed and widely shared.
The First Project Underway
We are also pleased to announce the first project to be undertaken through this new initiative.
This summer, George Henry, a recent graduate of Amherst College with degrees in Black Studies and Computer Science, has joined the Wells International Foundation as a Summer 2026 intern.
George Henry
Henry’s academic interests encompass Black Studies, archival practice, ethics and technology, Black feminist theory, Queer of Color Critique, and questions surrounding memory, representation, and historical recovery. Their interdisciplinary background makes them uniquely positioned to engage with Delaney’s legacy through innovative forms of interpretation.
Over the coming weeks, Henry will begin research for a sound-based project that explores Beauford Delaney’s relationship to New York City. Drawing upon archival materials, historical research, and field recordings gathered from locations associated with Delaney’s life and work, the project will seek to create a series of immersive soundscapes that invite audiences to consider the auditory dimensions of place, memory, and artistic experience.
The completed work will be shared through The Beauford Delaney Project as it develops.
Rather than asking only what Delaney saw as he moved through New York, this unique project invites us to consider what he may have heard—the sounds, rhythms, atmospheres, and environments that formed part of his lived experience and artistic world.
In doing so, Henry’s work exemplifies the interdisciplinary spirit that lies at the heart of both digital humanities practice and The Beauford Delaney Project itself.
Looking Ahead
We are excited by the possibilities this project presents for future scholarship, creative practice, and public engagement.
Beauford at rue Vercingétorix studio
Our intent is not only to preserve knowledge but also to generate new forms of inquiry and interpretation. By creating opportunities for students, scholars, artists, and communities to engage with Delaney’s life and work, we plan to contribute to a deeper understanding of his indelible significance within American, Black Diasporic, and global cultural history.
We invite readers to follow the development of the project, explore the new platform, and join us as this work continues to evolve.
Visit The Beauford Delaney Project digital hub HERE.
