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Sheldon offers students hands-on lesson in art selection
Huskers are helping expand the permanent collection of Sheldon Museum of Art.
Serving as volunteers on Sheldon’s student advisory board, eight University of Nebraska–Lincoln students learned about the mysteries of museum operations, selecting and acquiring a pair of artworks that will be featured in a First Friday celebration, 5 to 7 p.m., at the museum. The event is free and open to the public.
“Museums on college campuses should reflect the multitude of voices of their communities,” said Wally Mason, Sheldon’s director and chief curator. “The students have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with our collection and grasp the complexity of factors in deciding what will live on in the museum beyond their tenure.”
Artworks selected through recommendations made to Mason are: “El Oso Me Pregunto,” an archival pigment print by Rozeal, and “For John Altoon,” an etching by Richard Tuttle.
The Sheldon’s student advisory board served two primary purposes — helping the museum fulfill its academic role by serving as a laboratory for teaching, research and service; and allowing students to gain experience in collection management, responsible stewardship and the experience of being part of the acquisition process.
Students on the board work as volunteers. They also represent a broad cross-section of campus disciplines, from pre-nursing and architecture to history and fashion design.
“It’s not just saying, ‘Oh, this work is really beautiful, and we need to buy it in the next week. Rather, it’s looking at the context of the work, analyzing why it would be a good purchase/fit for the museum…”
–Daniela Chavez, Sheldon student advisory board volunteer
Like most student volunteers, Grace Orwen, a freshman studio arts major from Seward, joined the board to learn more about the art world she studies and museum practices. She credited Sheldon staff for their willingness to listen to student ideas.
“The museum is constantly finding ways to interact with the campus around them, finding new ways to connect with students of all ages,” Orwen said. “This was especially apparent through the enthusiasm of the acquisition project.”
The project helped show how the overall selection of artworks is a deliberate process, with a variety of factors playing into the final decisions made by museums. Through the process, students researched possible acquisitions and voted on a wish list of artworks. Beyond research, they wrote justifications for choices being made, particularly noting how each artwork fit within Sheldon’s collection.
Freshman Daniela Chavez from Grand Island, double majoring in biological sciences and art, got involved with the board because she is passionate about art and about promoting it on campus and in the community. She is taking away a greater awareness of how many people work behind the scenes in a museum and the deliberate process of acquisition.
“It’s not just saying, ‘Oh, this work is really beautiful, and we need to buy it in the next week,’” said Daniela Chavez, a biological sciences and art major from Grand Island. “Rather, it’s looking at the context of the work, analyzing why it would be a good purchase/fit for the museum, reading about the artists and the style it belongs to, and looking at prices and discussing/brainstorming.
“It’s so much more than simply seeing something, liking it and buying it.”
Students who participated in the selection process include Chavez, Alison Cloet, Grace Frahm, Bethany Meyers, Orwen, Grace Pugh, Bailey Simms and Tominee Sorenson.
The two artworks are featured in a student-organized exhibition that shows May 4 to July 29 at Sheldon. Learn more about the museum, including current and upcoming exhibitions.
