Every Object Tells a Story
Student Snapshot: Abigail Allport ’26
“I love that I can interact with a variety of fields through my art history major, and I love that art always tells a story,” says Abigail Allport ’26, who enjoys seeing how East Asian and Chinese languages, cultures and art interact and evolve. During her junior year, she spent a semester in Taipei, Taiwan, and she followed it up with a summer study in Nagoya, Japan. Allport has also interned at the Smithsonian Museum of Art and co-curated an exhibition. She's sharpening leadership skills as a Dickinson global ambassador, museum ambassador and community advisor and through several campus clubs.
Hometown:
No hometown! I moved around a lot when I was growing up.
High school:
Academy of the Holy Angels, Demarest, N.J.
Majors:
Art history and Chinese.
Best thing about my Dickinson experience:
The faculty and the variety of classes I have been able to take. My professors are all passionate about their research, and they’re eager to share their experiences and knowledge with their students. They’ve taken the time and attention to truly give me experiential learning experiences and to push me to improve as a student. I’ve also been able to take classes ranging from Buddhist temple architecture to marine biology, and I’ve gotten to learn how various academic fields intersect and inform each other.
Best thing about my major:
I love that I can interact with a variety of fields through my art history major, and I love that art always tells a story. Through art history, I have the opportunity to understand the cultural and historical contexts that shape how an object can be a microcosm of, and a viewpoint into, a particular time, place or experience. My Chinese major allows me to view East Asian and Chinese cultures and traditions through the lens of linguistics and to understand how language and culture interact and evolve.
On choosing Dickinson:
My dad and uncle attended Dickinson, so I was always aware of Dickinson’s unique institutional culture. I loved to hear their stories about their time in Carlisle, and when I visited Dickinson in high school, I fell in love with the small campus. I could really see myself fitting in and succeeding here.
Favorite class:
Associate Professor of English Sheela Jane Menon’s Border Crossings in Asian American Literature class. I’ve always loved to read, and this class was a valuable opportunity to critically examine new texts and uncover nuanced layers of interpretation in the work of Asian American authors.
Favorite professor:
Professors of Art History Elizabeth Lee and Melinda Schlitt; Adjunct Faculty in Art History Ty Vanover; Associate Professor of East Asian Studies Nan Ma; and Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies Christopher Peacock have been especially supportive. My art-history advisor, Associate Professor of Art & Art History Ren Wei, has been my greatest influence and strongest advocate; and Associate Professor of German Kamaal Haque, my First-Year Seminar advisor, has been an incredible mentor from my first day at Dickinson.
On studying abroad:
In fall 2024, I studied abroad in Taipei, Taiwan. I engaged in intensive language study of Mandarin Chinese and learned about Taiwanese history and culture through classes at National Taiwan University. I went on field trips to the Pinglin tea fields and Yingge pottery district, and I visited the Taipei Zoo and the famous National Palace Museum.
In summer 2025 I went to Nagoya, Japan, as a part of Professor of Japanese Language Alex Bates’ summer practicum. This class focused on Japanese history and culture of the Tokugawa period, and it included visits to shrines, temples and other landmarks in Nagoya, Kyoto, Gifu and many other small towns. The highlights of my time in Japan were my visits to the Fushimi Inari shrine, Arashiyama bamboo grove and Nara, home to Todaiji Temple and the bowing deer.
About my internship:
In summer 2025 I interned in the curatorial department of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. It was an amazing opportunity to get real experience working in a museum. I was able to attend art reviews, conduct research for upcoming exhibitions and write copy for Smithsonian websites.
Proudest accomplishment so far:
My involvement in the curation of my Art History Senior Seminar exhibition, Dissecting Locomotion. Along with the rest of my cohort, I researched and organized a show around Animal Locomotion, a photographic motion-study project completed in the 1880s at the University of Pennsylvania by Eadweard Muybridge. For the exhibition catalogue, I wrote a thesis analyzing the presence and portrayal of the white body within the photograph series. We had complete creative control over everything from the exhibition’s overarching themes to the gallery wall color. I’m grateful to the art department and gallery faculty for their help, and I’m so proud of how the show came together!
Clubs and organizations:
Office of Residence Life & Housing (community advisor), Visual Resources Center (cataloguer), Center for Global Study & Engagement (global ambassador), Trout Gallery (museum ambassador), East Asian Studies Department Majors Committee, Asian and Asian American Collective, MOB (student-led programming board) and Swing Dance Club.
Honors/scholarships/awards:
Provost’s Scholarship, Alumni Legacy Scholarship, Dickinson grant and Dean’s List.
Read more Student Snapshots.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published May 1, 2026