Twelve new students have been enrolled in the Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship programme, with the selected entrants to be given specialised training and mentoring from six high profile art museums in the US.

The new class is the fifth to enroll in the two-year programme, from which 30 fellows have graduated since it began in 2014. The programme seeks to increase curatorial talent from historically underrepresented communities.

As well as giving the students hands-on experience in a museum setting, assisting curators and staff on exhibitions, collections and programmes, the fellows are also matched with a curatorial mentor at each of the museums, who must attempt to enrich the academic experience and broaden the fellow's understanding of art and art history.

The fellowships include regular engagement during the academic school year, followed by full-time engagement over the summer.

The museums and fellows for the 2019-2021 programme are:

Art Institute of Chicago: Iris Haastrup and Kyndal Gragg
High Museum of Art: Destinee Filmore and Adeja Sterling
Los Angeles County Museum of Art: Emily Le and Jackeline Lopez
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: Veronica Carleton and Jaelynn Walls
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: Husnain Noorbhai and London Williams
Philadelphia Museum of Art: Laila Islam and Hannah McCoy

High Museum of Art director Rand Suffolk said the fellowship programme had already had a remarkable impact on the institution, adding: "Bringing diverse perspectives to museum leadership will help to ensure that our organisations remain relevant and essential in our communities."