The historiography of the Independent Group, dominated at present by art and architectural history, positions it within the trajectory of modernism. This Themed Issue demonstrates that there are other readings of the Group, which foreground both its multidisciplinary approach and contestation of cultural boundaries. The author is concerned here with the ways in which the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) and its Director, Dorothy Morland (1906–1999), acted as a catalyst for the Group. As an arts administrator rather than a practitioner, Morland’s contribution is often overlooked in the histories of art and architecture. Using the disciplinary approach of visual culture, a more inclusive view is opened up. Claims for prescience are in themselves, problematic, but by positioning Morland as the ‘Mother of Pop’, the commonly accepted view of the Independent Group as the ‘Fathers of Pop’ is contested. Morland trained as a singer at the Royal College of Music, and this background gave her a non-specialist and inclusive approach towards the visual. She managed to facilitate certain kinds of interdisciplinary debate and made it possible for certain kinds of art, design and architectural practice to flourish within the context of the ICA. She also facilitated the exhibition and dissemination of this interdisciplinary practice, acting as a bridge between the ICA management and the Independent Group, as well as being key to the preservation of the ICA’s history and archives.

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Black women are underrepresented in all ranks of higher education, from tenured faculty to university presidents. There is a need for academic leadership programs that support Black women’s rise to positions of leadership within academia. Dialogues in Leadership Herstory (DiLH) is a professional-development program that supports women’s exploration of leadership in higher education through coaching. Its design of a short-term, high-impact group mentorship engages female faculty and staff at varying stages of their careers and offers them glimpses of opportunities through the narratives of successful female academic leaders. The study reported on here sought to explore the experiences of Black female psychology faculty who participated in DiLH during the spring 2021 virtual cohort. Through autoethnographic methodology, major themes that emerged across the experience included overcoming fear of vulnerability and imposter feelings, a redefining of leadership, empowerment, self-discovery, and the value of the support that comes from a community of women. In this paper recommendations are made for programs designed to support the needs of Black women in the academy.

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