Academics, Artists, and Museums by Irina D. Costache Clare Kunny

Author:Irina D. Costache, Clare Kunny [Irina D. Costache, Clare Kunny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367521240
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2021-03-31T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 7.2 CI students (wearing t-shirts designed by them for the event) involved in welcome activities during the College Night at the Carnegie Art Museum (CAM). Photo by Brittany McGinley, CAM. Photo courtesy of CAM

The Museum course: concluding reflections

The Museum class presents students, faculty and museum partners with challenges and opportunities. For the students, the challenges include working in groups, being exposed to new material from an interdisciplinary perspective, and having multiple voices review and critique their projects (two instructors and at least one museum professional), as well as the practical issues of the time and expense of the mandatory field trips. But as it is evident in their comments, the problems become the benefits of the course. Learning how to collaborate efficiently, accepting and respecting others’ opinions, developing valuable communication skills, being exposed to the behind the scenes of the museum, and understanding the museum from an interdisciplinary perspective are some of the lessons students have stated they learned in this class. “Awesome,” “unique opportunity,” “incredible journey,” “memorable experience” “unique real-world experience” “once in a lifetime opportunity,” are superlatives used by students to describe this course, confirmed by more specific comments in which they acknowledge that they “plan to visit art museums largely because of participating in this class” or that they discovered “the importance of art.” It is clear that for the students involved in this course the barriers between them and art museum have been lifted. For faculty one key challenge is to adapt to the changing focus of the course and make sure the learning outcomes are met. The flexibility of the course is undeniably also an opportunity to introduce new ideas and different views and experiment with both content and format. The course has an excellent reputation on and off campus and enrollment is strong. From an academic perspective, the course has achieved its goal.

The museum perspective might be more pragmatic but it also confirms the value of the course and the partnerships. As a direct consequence at the Carnegie several current and past staff members are CI alumni and the connection to the Museum while attending the university proved to be key, as they are better prepared to assist with museum programing and collections research. Furthermore, once acquainted with the Museum they are much more likely to return with friends and families to visit. This is a “win-win” situation for all: students, the museum and the university connection to the community. For the Getty Museum, this partnership has been an opportunity to tap into an important segment of the college-student population and first-time visitors. Working directly with CI students and their faculty, the Getty staff gain a greater understanding of how to entice millennials to visit the museum, attend programs, and revisit the galleries. The outcome of the partnership is that the Getty becomes a local/regional museum for the students, their friends and family. Ultimately, as a result of the in-depth experience gained through The Museum, the students will become lifelong museum goers and art supporters.

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