She received her B.A. in Fine Art from Brooklyn College, C.U.N.Y., and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Art History from Duke University. Her research interests revolve around the history of art, visual culture and performance of the Black Diaspora. She has published on black modern and contemporary art and performance in journals such as Small Axe and Third Text. Her most recent article will be published in a forthcoming issue of Art Journal. Noel’s current book manuscript examines black modernism in the early twentieth century, particularly how tropicality functioned as a unifying element in African Diasporic art and performance.