Week I

Sunday June 12

Monday June 13

9 – 12
Hillyer 109

Introduction – Marion Goethals, Katy Kline
Logistics, introduction of faculty and TAs. Overview – discussion of reading: what art is meaningful?  Basic functions of art museums: collecting, preserving, exhibiting, interpreting, audience building.  Explanation of assignments: reading, class participation, trip preview report (sign-up today), class exhibition, five writing assignments culminating in final portfolio. 

Tuesday June 14

SCMA/Hillyer tours

Behind the scenes tours, and presentations by museum staff, continued

Other Resources, Tours.
Start in Hillyer Art Library. STUDENTS! Bring your laptops this afternoon.
Barbara Polowy, Head of the Hillyer Art Library, Introduction to library resources
Elisa Lanzi, Director, Imaging Center, Introduction to image resources

Wednesday June 15

9 – 12 Hillyer 109

Governance, Marion Goethals
Governance structures of both independent and “nested” museums.  Boards of Trustees and Advisory Committees; responsibilities and ethical obligations of the Board; role division between board and staff.  The Public Trust.  Role of the Attorney General. Mission and Vision statements.  In-class exercise writing mission statements for new museums.

Exhibiting, Katy Kline
Types of exhibitions: permanent collection, temporary, blockbuster, interventions, etc.; audience driven exhibitions; curatorial role; challenges to museums.
Also, SCMA, Winslow Gallery, looking at SIAMS exhibition artwork with Ann Musser
Trip Preview: Yale, Florence Griswold Museum

Thursday June 16

Yale University Art Gallery and Florence Griswold Museum

Friday June 17

Class Exhibition, Marion Goethals, Katy Kline, Ann Musser
Open discussion in gallery of artwork for SIAMS exhibition: themes and connections, potential audiences, programming, design.
Trip review

Working in Groups, Bob Wright, Assoc. Director of Human Resources, Williams College
Announcement of Exhibition Practicum student teams

Week II

Audience, Marion Goethals, Allison Berkeley, Manager of Marketing and Public Relations, Worcester Art Museum
Understanding visitor demographics; national participation in the arts; different kinds of audiences.  Why attendance matters.  Reaching and informing potential audiences. Use of new media in audience development.

Education, Ann Musser
Role of the museum education department; learning theory; looking strategies; art-making; didactic materials; assessment and evaluation; SCMA program

Week III

Writing and Publishing, Susan Rossen, Director Emerita of Publications, Art Institute of Chicago
Museum publications for varying audiences, writing about artwork, editing workshop

Collections II, Katy Kline
Policies and Procedures; shaping a collections plan; role of staff; role of Board; appraisals; tax law.  Ethical issues: provenance, Nazi-era, cultural patrimony, NAGPRA.  Collections management: deaccessioning policies and procedures; responsibility toward scholarship; role of the Registrar: record-keeping, curatorial files, databases; accessioning and cataloguing; photography; inventory; copyright and reproduction rights.
Sign up for Career Exploration Day preferences; sign up for faculty appointments.

Wednesday June 29

Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, American Wing, curatorial, provenance; Isabella Stewart Gardner, building expansion

Financial Pictures
A look at a typical museum budget: sources of income; expenses; what happens in a downturn.  Role of the museum fundraising department, board, staff; campaigns; membership programs; stewardship. Earned income: admission fees, café, shop, rentals, benefits.  Grants.  Foundations.  Strategizing about seeking grants.
Boston trip review

Week IV

Neilson Library open over weekend, no evenings, check hours

Planning and Evaluating, Marion Goethals
The value to museums of assessing and evaluating museum goals, understanding the impact of demographic trends, and planning for the future. Case study.

Graduate School panel

Wednesday July 6

Career Exploration (Mt. Holyoke College Art Museum, Eric Carle Museum, Emily Dickinson Museum, Mead Art Museum, University Art Museum, Historic Deerfield, Smith College Museum)

Architecture, Katy Kline, David Dempsey
A look at several examples from the recent explosion of new and renovated/expanded museums, often by international “starchitects”, examining how these new buildings reflect their institutions’ missions, programs and values. In-class spaces exercise.
Sign up for preferences for 2nd Career Exploration Day; sign up for faculty appointments

Williamstown and North Adams, MA
Clark Art Institute, building and development; Williams College Museum of Art, exhibition design; MASS MoCA, director, planning
4 – 8 SCMA 2nd Friday (optional)
LA Style, Print Making at Gemini G.E.L., 1966-1976. 6 pm Gallery Talk by Aprile Gallant

Week V

Ethics, Katy Kline
Transparency, conflict-of-interest, ethical conduct.  Discussion of examples.

Career Exploration (Mt. Holyoke College Art Museum, Eric Carle Museum, Emily Dickinson Museum, Mead Art Museum, University Art Museum, Historic Deerfield, Smith College Museum)

History of American Museums, Marion Goethals

Founding of civic museums; establishment of private museums; John Cotton Dana; museum visit to see Guerrila Girls posters; role of state, local and federal governments; proliferation of new museums; shifts in the future?

Trip Preview: Hartford and Springfield

Hartford and Springfield

Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, strategic planning; Springfield (MA) Museums, curator and director

What’s Next?  Tom Sokolowski, Director Emeritus, The Warhol Museum

Week VI

Writing Assignment Five due

Last Questions, Marion Goethals, Katy Kline

Trip review

Tuesday July 19

Wednesday July 20

Writing Assignment Six due
(Portfolio of Writing Assignments 1 - 5, revised)

Presentation in gallery of SIAMS 2011 exhibition to SCMA staff and faculty

Graduation rehearsal

adjourn by 1:00 or so