Artlab: The Art of Organizing an Exhibition

NEW COURSE GIVES STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CURATE A MUSEUM SHOW

The Department of Art & Art History, in cooperation with the Lowe Art Museum, has introduced “ArtLab”—a course that gives UM undergraduates an opportunity to curate an exhibit from the conceptual stage through the final installation. The result of the first semester’s work, entitled Trends and Techniques: A Short History of Printmaking, is on display through April 25th. A group of seven students has selected prints for this exhibit from the Lowe’s permanent collection, consisting of more than 17,500 pieces, to recount the origins of printmaking.

“To have handled works by Dali, Goya, and Picasso was amazing,” said Erin Anapol, ’09, art history. “As students we research and write about great artists, but having an up-close look at their works and organizing an exhibition ourselves is such a valuable opportunity.”

When the Lowe became part of the College of Arts & Sciences in 2007, discussions were already underway for promoting collaborations between the art department and the museum. A class such as ArtLab would embody that concept, associate professor of art history Rebecca Brienen thought at the time, and she in fact
taught the first semester of ArtLab; the students also worked with Kara Schneiderman, assistant director for collections and exhibition services at the Lowe. Stella M. Holmes, A.B. ’95, underwrote the costs of the class with her gift to the museum.

“I wanted students to feel like true art historians, to have the experience of touching the objects, almost putting them under a magnifying glass—just as curators do,” Brienan said. Indeed, students enrolled in ArtLab not only organized the exhibit’s content, researching and selecting from hundreds of masterworks, but also collaborated on virtually every aspect of the exhibit. Among other things, they picked the theme, chose the color of the exhibition space, and publicized the event. Trends and Techniques was unveiled to a full house on May 8th during the museum’s monthly signature social event, the LoweDown Happy Hour.

“I am so proud of what we learned,” said Nunzio Auricchio, ’09, art history. “I want to be a curator some day, and this showed me what a museum exhibit demands.”

ArtLab will be taught by different UM faculty each spring, and its themes are to vary as well. The next exhibit will focus on the intersection between art and politics. The 2011 show will feature Spanish colonial art, with contemporary art of Japan to debut in 2012.