The Campus Art Museum - Samuel H. Kress Foundation
The Campus Art Museum - Samuel H. Kress Foundation The Campus Art Museum - Samuel H. Kress Foundation
How Participants Became Engaged with Art and Art Museums How do those who are interested in and supportive of art and art museums become that way? What happens in their past that they not only become enamored with art but also, perhaps, choose a career that allows them to be immersed in art or museum life? I was talking with a select group—with art museum directors, curators, and other museum staff; with students who, often, are studying art history or art education; with faculty who make use of the museum in their classes; and with community members who are museum docents, volunteers, or board members, or alumni who remain connected in some way with the museum. 6 From them, I sought to learn about aspects of their past that helped them become interested in the arts and, ultimately, art museums. Four factors seem to have had the largest influence: 1. Art. As a child, they were surrounded by art, often because a parent was an artist. They grew up with art and, sometimes, with a gift for drawing or painting. 2. Course. As a college student or, sometimes, as a high school student, they took an art history course that, generally in combination with a fantastic teacher, interested them in taking more courses and got them interested in art and art museums. 3. Job. They took a job in an art museum (or gallery or frame shop) and, through the exposure and associated experiences, decided they wanted to pursue work in an art museum. 4. Museum. They visited art museums and became interested in them. Often, a combination of the above factors coalesced to encourage the respondent to pursue studies, work, and/or frequent interactions with art and museums. One would lead to the other, as when growing up in an art-centered environment led to taking courses in art and/or art history which led to a degree in the arts and a subsequent job in an art museum. Sometimes, however, the interest in the arts came more suddenly through a visit to an art museum or through a course. The following table focuses on different categories of respondents and the factors that appear as primary in interesting them in art museums. 6. The thirty-four interviewees who are more removed from the art museum world are campus administrators, faculty loosely connected to the museum, and a few students who are at the museum because of a job. Many are, nonetheless, champions of the campus art museum. How Participants Became Engaged with Art and Art Museums 12
Table 111.1. How Interviewees Became Interested in Art Museums Respondent Category (79 total)* Museum Staff & Volunteers (31) directors, curators, educators, registrars, docents, volunteers Students (24) undergraduates & graduates in the arts of working in the museum Arts Faculty (6) studio, art history, art education, design Faculty, Admin, Alum (18) disciplines other than visual arts Art (exposure to as a child) Course (college or high school) Job or Internship (in art museum, gallery, etc.) Museum Visits (as a child or later in life) Other 8 6 8 8 1 (frame shop) 10 6 4 4 3 2 0 1 5 2 0 7 4 (research, photography, collaborations) Totals 26 16 12 20 5 *Note: This does not reflect the total number of participants in the study, but rather the number that talked about what interested them in art museums. The numbers reported here are meant to indicate patterns and should not be taken as significant in themselves. As previously noted, respondents often talked about a combination of factors, and, for this table, I forced the issue, reporting only the item that seems the one that cemented their involvement with art museums. For example, a curator said, I grew up going to the St. Louis Art Museum when I was in high school…. I went to college planning to study history which I did, but then added in an art history and art double major, kind of as a lark because it was fun, not because I had any intention to do anything with that. And through happenstance…, I ended up doing a museum internship to replace a class I had dropped part way through a semester and that… gave me the behind the scenes window into the atmosphere and energy of a really great museum. And I did another internship at the Contemporary Art Museum in Houston and that’s where I really fell in love with museum work, it was actually in education… and helped me to think about the power to reach audiences…. That sucked me in and I ended up getting a curatorial assistant job there after I graduated and going back to get a masters, but from the time I started that curatorial assistantship position, I was totally hooked in. She was counted in the job or internship category, although her visits to the St. Louis Art Museum and the courses she took “as a lark” were also important. See Appendix B for more quotations from interviewees on influencing factors. Looking at this table, it is obvious that growing up in an environment where people make art or crafts and appreciate various forms of art helps greatly How Participants Became Engaged with Art and Art Museums 13
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Table 111.1. How Interviewees Became Interested in <strong>Art</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>s<br />
Respondent Category<br />
(79 total)*<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> Staff &<br />
Volunteers (31)<br />
directors, curators,<br />
educators, registrars,<br />
docents, volunteers<br />
Students (24)<br />
undergraduates & graduates<br />
in the arts of working in the<br />
museum<br />
<strong>Art</strong>s Faculty (6)<br />
studio, art history, art<br />
education, design<br />
Faculty, Admin, Alum<br />
(18)<br />
disciplines other than visual<br />
arts<br />
<strong>Art</strong><br />
(exposure to<br />
as a child)<br />
Course<br />
(college or<br />
high school)<br />
Job or<br />
Internship<br />
(in art museum,<br />
gallery, etc.)<br />
<strong>Museum</strong><br />
Visits<br />
(as a child or<br />
later in life)<br />
Other<br />
8 6 8 8 1 (frame shop)<br />
10 6 4 4<br />
3 2 0 1<br />
5 2 0 7 4 (research,<br />
photography,<br />
collaborations)<br />
Totals 26 16 12 20 5<br />
*Note: This does not reflect the total number of participants in the study, but rather the number that talked about<br />
what interested them in art museums.<br />
<strong>The</strong> numbers reported here are meant to indicate patterns and should not be<br />
taken as significant in themselves. As previously noted, respondents often talked<br />
about a combination of factors, and, for this table, I forced the issue, reporting only<br />
the item that seems the one that cemented their involvement with art museums.<br />
For example, a curator said,<br />
I grew up going to the St. Louis <strong>Art</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> when I was in high school…. I<br />
went to college planning to study history which I did, but then added in an art<br />
history and art double major, kind of as a lark because it was fun, not because<br />
I had any intention to do anything with that. And through happenstance…, I<br />
ended up doing a museum internship to replace a class I had dropped part<br />
way through a semester and that… gave me the behind the scenes window<br />
into the atmosphere and energy of a really great museum. And I did another<br />
internship at the Contemporary <strong>Art</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> in Houston and that’s where I<br />
really fell in love with museum work, it was actually in education… and helped<br />
me to think about the power to reach audiences…. That sucked me in and I<br />
ended up getting a curatorial assistant job there after I graduated and going<br />
back to get a masters, but from the time I started that curatorial assistantship<br />
position, I was totally hooked in.<br />
She was counted in the job or internship category, although her visits to the St.<br />
Louis <strong>Art</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> and the courses she took “as a lark” were also important. See<br />
Appendix B for more quotations from interviewees on influencing factors.<br />
Looking at this table, it is obvious that growing up in an environment<br />
where people make art or crafts and appreciate various forms of art helps greatly<br />
How Participants Became Engaged with <strong>Art</strong> and <strong>Art</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>s<br />
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