Welcome!
And thank you all for coming.
I'm so glad you all could join us this evening.
Of course, I'm especially grateful to the
3 alums who I will introduce shortly for making
long journeys from New York, Washington D.C.,
and Raleigh-Durham to share their experiences
with the value of majoring in the arts.
I also want to be sure to thank Lori Tanzer
and Heather Christman in Career Development
for helping to organize and support this event.
So, for those of you who don't know me, my
name is Pepper Stetler and I'm a professor
in the Art and Architecture History program
here at Miami.
My interest in organizing this event was motivated
by conversations that I had with students
during the time that I have taught here.
These conversations seem to fall into 2 different
categories: first, I've had conversations
with many students who seem to feel anxious
about their choice to major in art and architecture
history.
This anxiety does not stem from any lack of
interest in the subject or a lack of enjoyment
in their art history classes, but pressure
they feel from their friends and acquaintances
who learn of their major and ask them the
loaded question, "Art History?
What are you going to do with that?"
From my experience, the students I've talked
to about this intuit the skills and value
of their major--things like how it teaches
them to read and write, to understand and
respond to arguments, and to consider how
visual habits and practices change over history--but
have trouble articulating a direct relationship
between what they study and their professional
plans.
If a student is not interested in a lifetime
of academia or museum work, then what is an
Art History major good for?
The second type of conversation is even more
troubling to me.
These students are deeply interested in the
subject of art history, but understandably
feel beholden to the wishes of their parents
who prefer their child major in something
more "practical," that is a major that appears
to train students for the skills necessary
for a particular career, a major in which
the job title is already part of the major
seems greatly, although I would argue superficially
comforting and secure.
With these students and conversations in mind,
this event seeks to inform its audience of
the variety of career paths and opportunities
that a student majoring in the arts is prepared
for.
Most of the case for this argument will be
made by the alumni panelists, but for my part,
I would like to offer the following factoids
to ponder during our conversation this evening
in hopes that a student might be able to refer
to them next time they feel compelled to defend
their study of the arts and feel more confident
that their professional future is bright.
In a 2013 survey conducted on behalf of the
American Association of Colleges and Universities,
nearly all businesses surveyed--that's 93%
of businesses--agreed that "a candidate's
demonstrated capacity to think critically,
communicate clearly, and solve complex problems
is more important than their undergraduate
major."
A 2012 article in the newspaper USA Today
reported that liberal arts students are "three
times less likely to be unemployed than those
who haven't, half as likely to be living with
their parents--that's for the parents in the
audience, far less likely to have amassed
credit card debit--again, for the parents
in the audience.
A bit closer to home, a 2012 study of Miami
graduates from the years 2002 and 2007 who
majored in the humanities, including Art History,
that was conducted by Miami's Office of Institutional
Research, 87% of alumni who majored in the
humanities were currently employed in a diverse
range of careers including business operations,
computers and mathematics, social services,
and finance.
Another factoid: many top business schools
prefer to admit students who did not major
in business as undergraduates.
For example, the University of Virginia's
Darden School aims for 75% non-business majors
in its entering class.
At Harvard Business School, 41% of students
majored in the humanities, by far the biggest
proportion of majors in the class.
These statistics show that the sky's the limit
for Art History majors and other students
who choose to study the arts and humanities.
In fact, one alum named Jessica Waldman, who
I invited here regretfully declined the invitation
because she was studying for her MCAT for
medical school, which merely proved my point,
and I'm pretty confident that she'll do well
because the Association of American Medical
Colleges reports that medical schools accepted
51% of humanities majors who applied in 2010--that's
higher than any other major of people that
applied to medical school.
So, I also realized here that as a professor
I cannot draw on firsthand experiences to
make the case for how an Art History major
can translate into a diverse range of careers
and life paths--I am a horrible example of
that--so I called for backup and Leslie Bender
Jones, Neal Stimler, and Sofie Williams came
to my rescue.
I'm going to ask them to share their story
with you, but we want this event to be a conversation
with members of the audience asking questions
about how they got to where they are and really
about anything else that you're interested
in.
One last thing, for reasons that will soon
become clear, Neal Stimler has asked me to
announce that the audience should utilize
their mobile devices, smartphones, and tablets
during the panel, not turn them off.
Okay, so let's get started.
I'm just going to start by asking you to introduce
yourself and tell us about your career path
and your stories since you graduated from
Miami.
My name is Neal Stimler, I am the Associate
Digital Asset Specialist at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City.
I began working at the MET as an intern after
graduating from Miami University in 2006.
I was an intern first in 2005 working on German
expressionist prints, and then subsequently
on prints made during the WPA, the Works Progress
Administration, and I've continued working
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art first in
what was called the Image Library and now
in the Department of Digital Media.
So, you started there right after graduation?
Yes, I left Miami and immediately began my
work at the MET.
It seems like you have gone from working in
a more curatorial capacity to something very
different.
I took the skills and practices I learned
especially with my work at the Miami University
Art Museum in curatorial practice, in collections
management, along with the technology skills
I was developing at the time into the work
I did at the MET.
So, I began with a more curatorial focus,
but that curatorial focus was in the practice
of technology of digitization of collections
information and digitization of the collection,
and then as the MET began to focus more on
digital technology within the museum kind
of grew internally with the organization as
a it moved from thinking about a traditional
picture collection, which would be slides
and black and white photography in the analog
context, into the digital environment.
Hi everyone, I'm Sofie Williams.
I graduated here in 2009.
I was a double major in Art History and English
Literature, so another major where people
say, "What are you going to do with that?"
So what I did was I graduated in 2009 and
immediately moved to Princeton, New Jersey
where I took a job at the Princeton University
Art Museum.
I was an editor there and worked on a number
of exhibition catalogs, wall texts, really
the full range of publications that would
go along with an art exhibit, so I was very
directly using my two degrees.
After a couple of years there and a number
of publications, I decided to take a break
and went back to school for my Master's.
I now live in North Carolina, I'm the Assistant
Director of Communications at the North Carolina
School of Science and Math, so basically expanded
my former editorial experience in a museum
to a broader, more general communications
job and that's what I do now.
Thank you everyone for being here, and thank
you, Pepper, for organizing this and bringing
us to Miami, it's great to be back.
I graduated in 2008 from Miami with a History
of Art and Architecture Bachelor's and a minor
in Arts Management.
I went directly from undergrad to grad school.
I enrolled in a program in the fall 2008 at
the Smithsonian and the Corcoran College of
Art and Design in Washington, D.C. in the
History of Decorative Arts, so I went from
studying paintings and prints and photography
to ceramics and textiles and glass and furniture.
I finished that program in 2010 with essentially
a Master's in Historic American Furniture,
which translated really well from the architecture
aspect from the "History of Art and Architecture"
undergrad here.
I started then as an intern for the White
House Historical Association--while I was
in grad school, I wrote my thesis on White
House furniture--and that ended up translating
into a 6-month contract position as the curator
at the National Center for White House History,
and then that sort of unfolded into a full-time
position there, as well, so I've been there
ever since.
Currently, I am the curator for the David
M. Rubenstein National Center for White House
History.
I'm also managing our exhibitions, as well
as our public programming, which includes
TV shows and I just finished content production
for a C-SPAN series, First Ladies Influence
Image, which ended this past month, so I take
my Art History degree in various capacities,
in exhibition design, cataloging, I do a lot
of independent curating, as well, I do exhibits
for the Washington Winter Antiques Show and
for National Trust for Historic Preservation
sites, so I want to prove to my dad who's
in the corner back there who asked me when
I decided to enroll in the History of Art
and Architecture program, I had to have 5
jobs I could give him that I could get without
a Master's degree with Art History degree,
and I don't remember what those jobs were,
and I'm sure one of them wasn't working for
the White House Historical Association, but
I did it, so you're welcome and thank you.
Also, intermittently, while I was in grad
school I did an archeology program at University
of Virginia and a material culture program
at University of Delaware, so I've really
been all over the place I guess.
Listening to you guys now, I can imagine as
a student it's incredibly intimidating, like
these people have their stuff together, they
know what they're doing.
Did it always seem like that?
Tell me a part where it seemed like you screwed
up and you didn't know what you were doing
at all--don't seem so polished is what I mean.
I do work at the White House Historical Association,
but I don't work for the administration, so
when the president recently said the controversial
words about Art History degrees, I really
didn't agree with that at all.
I guess a failure--or just a time where you
felt lost and didn't know what you were doing.
There was a point in time where I had a colleague
that resigned and I had to absorb his job
duties and that ended up being a lot more
administrative, I sort of lost touch with
the art history in terms of what I was taking
on as a responsibility, and quite honestly,
I realized that not only is it something I'm
very passionate about and good at, but it's
something I wanted to keep doing.
So, I had to work with people in my department
to reconfigure what I was focused on doing
at work, so there was a brief period of time.
Sophie, it seems like you were perfectly fine
to kind of leave aside the content of art
history and look for different things.
Sure, and it does seem like that, I don't
necessarily feel that way--I never had a moment
where I was like, "Art history is not for
me, this is not what I want to do."
But in my position at Princeton, I was doing
some more general things, I was incorporating
both of my undergraduate majors--Art History
and English Literature--and I found that that
melding of skills and of content areas, not
just painting and sculpture and all the things
we learn about in art history, but communications
and the whole publishing process and really
I loved that, and that's where I found my
niche, so there wasn't a moment where art
history was not for me, it was that I was
able to channel that love and connection to
art history and all the plethora of things
you learn about in that discipline into something
that really fit for me and my skill set and
my background and interests.
So, publishing and communications was just
where I found the most opportunity to utilize
those skills in a way that felt like a natural
fit for me.
That's something I would always encourage
anyone to think about--you don't always have
to take a certain prescribed route with art
history, you don't have to go to a museum,
if you want to do that, that's great, and
I did that, but I did something a little less
specific.
I didn't do curatorial work, that was never
really my interest, although I have a ton
of respect for those of you who do, that just
wasn't for me, but I was able to find something
that really specifically fit what my exact
interests were, so I would encourage everyone
to look for opportunities to do that and don't
necessarily feel like you have to do curatorial
work, as great as it is.
Whereas Neal it seems like you found this
digital world, as well, after you got to the
MET.
The interesting shift for me was that at the
time I was at the MET there was the explosion
of new technology, of social media--Twitter,
Facebook--mobile technology, and my interest
was in taking my understanding of prints and
graphic art as a means of mass communication,
especially looking at works of art like the
WPA, which were government projects for the
American people by American artists, and making
a direct connection with that in terms of
my scholarly practice in thinking about the
digital and realm of digital technology dissemination
of the MET's collection, so part of what I
do now is work with various curatorial departments
and thinking about the strategy they use to
digitize their collections.
Right now we're working on a great campaign
to digitize the Arms and Armor collection,
which is a much beloved collection of the
museum that has not been highly digitized,
and now we're aggressively digitizing it.
So, more of the collection of the museum is
online, more of it is becoming accessible
to the public with new research and new scholarships.
I took that same interest and passion I had
with curatorial work and transferred it to
this evolving and exploding digital environment.
What do you guys feel was the most important
thing you learned as an art history major?
I have a feeling that's not going to be, like,
when the Sistine Chapel was painted or something
like that.
What was the most important thing you learned?
I would say interdisciplinary thinking and
being able to think outside of constraints.
I think sometimes art history can fall under
the pitfalls of very narrow thinking about,
as you said, the Sistine Chapel, a very constrained
sense of discipline, but for me the opportunity
was looking at art and culture in a very broad
spectrum and seeing my abilities to apply
my ideas of inquiry to multiple facets of
practice.
And also the greatest aspect I took from Miami
was not necessarily the coursework in itself
but the people and professors that became
my friends and mentors and people that inspired
my life in a transformative way that is something
far beyond any text or image can give me.
That's taken me far beyond anything I could
have accomplished just reading a book in itself.
That's the gift that keeps on giving.
I would definitely pick up on what Neal just
said about connections both between disciplines--obviously
since that's been a big part of my experience--but
also you mentioned the word "inquiry" and
I think that's a great thing to highlight.
For me, whenever I hit that question, whether
I was in school or after, "Why do you study
art history", "What is the best thing about
it", and I would say it's definitely the ability--you're
learning to ask the right questions or to
ask questions in general because some disciplines
don't encourage that as much as others.
History is definitely a place where you're
learning to ask questions, you're encouraged
to ask questions, and to ask hard questions,
not just surface questions of "When was the
Sistine Chapel painted" or "What media is
this?"
You want to know very deep questions about
the culture surrounding it, the person behind
it, the public they were working with, all
these different things, but in general when
you're looking at a piece of art, writing
a paper about a piece of art, just thinking
about these things in a cross-culture or cross-discipline
context, you're thinking hard and learning
to ask those questions, and in my experience,
that's been a huge part--I learned that in
art history, I learned that in my literature
classes, as well, but when you're trying to
come up with those deep connections between
the art you're looking at, the art you're
making in classes, it's huge to learn to ask
those questions and think about things in
a much deeper way.
Also the skill of observation, I think that's
one of the greatest skills I picked up from
analyzing a Hieronymus Bosch painting and
the symbolism that lies behind it, I remember
actually in terms of questions being asked,
Dr. Jegede, one of the first questions you
asked in your African art class was, "Is this
art?
What makes this art?"
So, asking questions, deconstructing an object
and figuring out--in my experience with furniture
at least--looking at the construction, the
materials, it tells you about trade routes,
commerce, colonial clothing, for example,
if you're looking at a highboy from the colonial
period made in Philadelphia, you can deconstruct
an object through your skills of observation
and asking questions by really focusing on
all the different areas that make up a piece,
and then you find out so much more about what's
happening in the world at that time.
I mean, history is my passion, I kind of have
to be professionally, as well, but asking
the right questions and just really honing
in on your observation skills and you can
apply that to anything, also.
Great, I think we should open it up to questions
from you guys.
You can ask anything--about their specific
job, about art history, please let us know
what you want to know.
When you ask a question, I will be awkwardly
repeating it so it is recorded into the mic,
just to let you know.
But please, what are your questions for the
panelists?
So the question is, "How do you fashion yourself
or write a cover letter present yourself to
a potential employee in a way that foregrounds
the larger skills of majoring in Art History
rather than the kind of content facts of the
discipline?"
I think it depends on what you're applying
for.
If you're applying to a museum, which is a
larger institution, take for example the MET
or Philadelphia Museum of Art or Smithsonian,
someone who reads your resume first, they
probably understand what an Art History degree
contains, but they're going to look more at
your cover letter because they're going to
pass through that and look for certain language
there and that all just depends on what the
job description is.
They go through hundreds and, especially now,
thousands of resumes.
The best way is to make your presentation
to the HR department wherever you're applying.
For example, in a museum, to cater to what
it is they're outlining and the best way to
do that is pick up buzzwords and key words
they're outlining in the description.
I would absolutely agree that your cover letter
is the perfect place to do that and it's a
great place to put your writing skills to
use.
But another thing I would say is in both your
cover letter and resume to really try to focus
on specific examples of your experience, to
focus on action pieces instead of descriptors.
Descriptors can be really important, and they
are, but a lot of times employers are really
looking for examples of you putting those
skills to use.
So not necessarily just saying what your degree
is, but how did you use that, how do you want
to use that, how do you want to incorporate
that into this job description, and like Leslie
said picking up on those keywords in the job
description and saying, "My ability to ask
the right questions will be essential in helping
me fulfill this job and all the things that
it requires."
Another thing I would say that in my personal
experience has been a huge part of my job
search along the way in different positions,
use your art background, use your art history--a
lot of you take studio classes so that may
be your focus.
But my resume doesn't look like a lot of other
resumes in the field.
I took artistic liberties, I incorporated
some artistic elements just to make it a little
more visually interesting, and it doesn't
need to be over the top, but every time I've
applied for a position whether it's an internship
at an art museum--I've done a number of those--my
communications job now, everyone has mentioned
to me, "Oh your resume was the one with the
blah blah blah," but they remember it in a
visual aspect and I think that is a really
great way to just give a concrete example
that you do have this artistic background
and you're bringing that to your package that
describes you and how you would fit into this
job.
So, don't be afraid to be a little bit creative,
like I said don't feel the need to go over
the top, you want to present yourself in a
professional manner, but don't be afraid to
embrace your skills and embrace your background.
I'd say the most important thing is actually
social media.
Your resume is 140 characters.
So, if I go to your Twitter page and I find
a bio that's interesting, then I'm curious.
If I Google you and I find something that's
interesting, then I'm curious.
That's about as far as I'm going to go, so
be on social media.
Your professional practice starts right now
in college, in high school.
Your profession starts right now, so be thoughtful
about what you tweet, be thoughtful about
what you post on Facebook, be thoughtful about
what you post on LinkedIn--your career starts
before you think it does.
That is the data I'm mining, that is the data
I'm after.
If it's not there, if I can't find a website
or profile for you, you don't exist.
So, make sure you spend time on that, think
about what you do there.
And you can begin to have the courage to post
good content now--if you go to the art museum
on campus, tweet about the exhibition.
If you attend a lecture that inspires you,
tweet about that, send a link to a book you're
reading in the library.
The data I'm finding is the data that matters
to me.
It's not a pretty resume, it's not a cover
letter.
And I would just say just to add to that,
don't be afraid of social media.
I absolutely think that if there's a piece
of social media you don't feel comfortable
using, for example, I don't use Twitter, but
I do have a pretty strong presence in some
other social media areas, and I use that for
my job quite extensively-- all sorts of different
venues of social media.
But I think it's more important, exactly like
Neal said to use it in a thoughtful manner.
And you can start now.
There's no reason you shouldn't be "curating"
content in those venues.
And don't be afraid to be yourself, embrace
those tools because those are absolutely powerful
tools for your future and for your career
path.
Coming from Washington, D.C. where everything
is very politically correct, no one really
uses social media for things like that, so
just the opposite end of the spectrum, if
you're applying for a job at the Smithsonian
or the federal government, on my end it's
probably better not to be on social media
unless you're being very precise about what
you're using.
People aren't going to be looking for what
you're posting that's related to your job
skills, they're going to be looking for dirt--things
that would make you a not successful candidate
for this position, trying to weed out people
essentially.
Not to be negative, but in my geographic realm,
in that quadrant, that's the way we do things.
That's a great question--it's about integrating
an Art History major or minor with another
field that might not necessarily seem to be
so compatible with it, for example, finance
and art history, how those might work together
and, I imagine, how you can explain those
working together for you to an employer.
Finance and art history are actually a perfect
marriage.
The art market--art a lot of times, these
days especially contemporary artists are looked
more as commodities, and the art market trade
is a billion dollar industry.
Art advisors--CitiBank, Chase National, JP
Morgan, Goldman Sachs--all have fine art divisions
where they help people invest in artwork and
they trade it like it's a commodity.
If you ever read the New York Times, actually
Bloomberg is a great example of an online
presence of how they read the art market in
comparison to the general economic state.
And it's a very small group of people that
buy these multi-million dollar pieces of artwork,
for example, a 142 million dollar painting
sold in November--it's the highest price achieved
for a piece of artwork ever and that's one
person buying it for their personal collection,
so art and finance is a market right now that
is a really hot market and you actually would
probably be really good in finding a position
in that.
And on the other side of that, every museum
has a finance position--at least one, if not
a large number.
There's a need for that in whatever you do.
I took a more sort of nonprofit route of that,
but you always need someone in that position.
I minored in Arts Management when I was here,
so I took a smaller number of business classes
than you'll be taking, but those skills were
very beneficial for me getting my first internships
and my first job.
Having that background was extremely beneficial
to me, knowing that I had that I had experience
with finance.
I took Entrepreneurship, Intro to Business,
all of those classes, Accounting, that gave
me a little more well-rounded background to
show that I had a more complete understanding
of how a museum works, if that's what you're
looking at.
Having those skills is a great benefit to
you.
I was also an Arts Management minor and I
think it prepared me well to be part of a
large organization to learn about the various
aspects of administration and finance and
services.
It's a great way to approach your interests
to have a complementary approach to things,
and as Leslie pointed out, finance in the
art world plays a huge role, so you'll be
well served with both of those things.
It really helps you understand how the whole
process works, which is a strong point for
that.
Sometimes, they'll make you fearful--I wouldn't
say Art History majors or professors but the
art history profession can make you fearful
of what value relies in an artwork, not necessarily
value in terms of its intrinsic, but its actually
physical value with dollar signs attached
to it.
I just finished a program at NYU in the Appraisal
of Fine and Decorative Arts and it's one of
the more practical sides of art history because
you have to put all of your observation skills
and research skills to work in order to determine
if this artwork is authentic or if it's legitimate
in terms of what information you have already,
but then also in terms of the sale or trade
of art, which if you're in a museum you're
going to acquire a piece of artwork by gift
or by purchase and you have to understand
where the value lies in that piece of artwork,
so finance and art, you're good.
Something you are reminding me of here is
the fact that if you're interested in working
in a museum context, many other hats are worn
in a museum besides being a curator and designing
exhibitions, right?
There is an education department, digital
imaging department--digital media department
at MET has 70 people and there's around 2,000
people at the MET.
There's a lot of roles to be filled by varied
and talented people with diverse skill sets
and viewpoints and all ranges--editorial/publications,
digital media, science, conservation, research,
collections management, visitor services.
The level of expertise you would find in a
comprehensive, encyclopedic museum like that
is--it's like a business--it's incredible,
and it's reliant upon a group of people working
together with diverse talents and skill sets
for a common purpose and mission, and that
can be founded here, as well.
And let me just say with that, that if you
are a curator or you're a researcher and you're
working on whatever project you're working
on, a lot of times those things are grant-funded
or you have a very specific exhibition budget
you have to work within, so having that background,
for example, when I would be working on an
exhibition catalog at Princeton, that falls
into the exhibition budget and depending on
what the exhibit is, that money comes from
different places and we're responsible in
a number of different ways to report that
back to certain people and make sure we work
within those confines, so even if you are
doing something that seems not related to
finance like publishing a book, you definitely
have that side of it, as well, and especially
in a nonprofit or art institution I think
you'll run into times where you need to have
a diverse understanding of how the process
works and sometimes you have to be responsible
for your own budget and that's an extremely
helpful skill to have because you need to
have that well-rounded background in order
to most efficiently use your skills and the
skills people of people around you.
Is anyone a science and art person by any
chance?
Technology people in the room?
Coders, hackers, makers?
No?
Dreamers, thinkers, painters, sculptors?
You're makers, too, you just use different
tools.
Hannah has asked when you majored in Art History
if you had any idea what you were going to
do or what you wanted to do career wise.
I would say pretty soon at Miami University
I became pretty focused on wanting to be at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
I actually applied twice to the Cloisters
Internship Program, which is the medieval
branch of the MET, and was in the top 10 twice
and didn't make it, and then I went and studied
abroad with the German department with their
German summer program which is an excellent
program if you're studying language and culture--I
would highly recommend that with the German
department, which I think is now called something
else--but I went to Germany, I learned the
German language, I visited 105 museums in
2 months, trained myself on German expressionist
art and was asked to work as an art intern
by the Art Institute of Chicago and the MET,
took my job at the MET, and that became my
trajectory, so my focus was to work for a
world class institution and contribute to
public service, and through the support of
my professors and mentors here and the opportunities
I had directly corresponding to my work at
Miami, I was able to fill those goals.
That was my direct goal orientation.
I did not have any idea what I wanted to do
with art history.
I was very lucky, I didn't necessarily have
a ton of parental or peer pressure to do something
practical or that had a very direct career
path, I just was encouraged to pursue my interests.
So, naive as it may seem to some, as a freshman
I just really loved art history, I loved going
to museums, learning everything I could about
a piece of art and how it was made, where
it came from, why it's important, why we pay
attention now--those are really strong interests
for me, so I kind of dove in.
And I think a lot of times, like Neal was
describing, even though he did have a clearer
idea than I did of what I wanted to do, you
sort of find your passion within art history
and within the field and certain opportunities
will come your way and if they feel right
for you then pursue them.
I didn't have a clear understanding of what
I wanted to do, I was just following it for
my interest, and luckily for me I was able
to find ways to bring my passions together
with the literature and the art history side,
so I didn't have a clear idea, but things
sort of fell into place for me.
And I think that happens a lot of times just
from hearing our different experiences you
find ways to pull those things together, and
opportunities present themselves and if they're
right for you then seize them and take that
as being your opportunity to go that route.
I think I knew I wanted to be in museum work
even though I'm not in a traditional museum
at this moment.
My idea of what I want to do in a long term
trajectory is still evolving because I always
want to be a student, that's why I went back
to grad school again.
I probably had an idea about it at the time,
but I guess also my focus of what I wanted
to study shifted so much from being American
impressionism in undergrad to then being American
furniture in grad schools, so I've just sort
of kept it steady.
But don't be afraid of changing your mind,
too.
That reminds me of something else I worry
that deters a lot of people from majoring
in Art History is that it might seem to do
anything with an Art History degree almost
requires grad school, like Leslie was saying
she had to convince her father she could have
a job without going to grad school, and so
I wonder if people would be interested in
hearing about the necessity of a graduate
degree.
Did you go to graduate school and get your
Master's because you wanted to and you wanted
to study more or did you think, "I'm not going
to be able to do much unless I have a graduate
degree."
I wanted to study more.
I did my capstone course at Miami on American
furniture on the Garvan carver who is a Philadelphia
carver in the Chippendale or Rococo period,
and because there wasn't anything else here
that offered me to study that, I knew that
furniture was a passion of mine and I wanted
to go forward with it.
I applied to several different schools--University
of Delaware, Georgetown, the Smithsonian,
and then the Sotheby's program--and the Smithsonian
was the best fit for me.
I basically knew that I needed to keep working
and honing my skills and be exposed to more
of it, as well--that's the biggest thing is
just the overall exposure, constantly looking,
and then going back to grad school the second
time was more to just broaden my horizons,
so I'm a constant student I guess; I'll never
stop learning.
I think that's something that's common for
a lot of people who embrace art history is
that love for learning and that drive to keep
learning more and more.
In my personal experience, I never hit a point
where I was up against a barrier before I
went for my Master's, but I think it depends
on the field.
I would assume curatorial work is more likely
to require a Master's degree earlier, but
like we've been discussing, there are so many
jobs within an art museum without even expanding
to other institutions you could work for,
and a lot of those positions, while a Master's
is great, practical experience is also very
important, so in my career trajectory I found
that my experiences even early on from internships
has been very important for me in securing
positions and embracing my professional advancement
opportunities that came along.
So, don't necessarily rule out grad school
or practical experience--one is not necessarily
better than the other, but I think the order
you embrace those things depends on what exactly
you want to do, but definitely be open to
considering going for a job or some sort of
practical experience before grad school.
Of course, it depends on what you want to
do, but I found that very beneficial to me
to have some career experience soon after
I graduated from undergrad here and building
up my skill set and embracing becoming a more
well-rounded person with those professional
experiences under my belt.
Then hopefully you have the opportunity to
go back, which is what I had the chance to
do, but I think they work together.
I'm going to be the voice of dissent to disagree
with that respectfully.
I have no graduate degrees.
Having not done a graduate study allowed me
the flexibility and freedom to pursue the
career I wanted to, to adapt to the response
of changes of technology and its impact on
our world, and to have the ability to work
with mentors that I was inspired by.
So what I've done as a professional practice
is to seek out mentors in the field that inspire
me, try to work with them, foster relationships
and publication projects, and grow my own
learning experience.
Also, I think there's a real reality today
that the economic impact of graduate school
on oneself and one's future is a very important
consideration--it is not necessarily the right
choice for most of us these days, and the
fact that culture is changing at such a rapid
pace is another important thing to keep in
mind.
I would really advocate for being a generalist
and being interdisciplinary and being agile
and flexible because that's the way business
and our culture is moving.
What else?
The question is about internship experiences
that the panelists had before they graduated,
or perhaps right after they graduated, and
creating opportunities rather than just responding
to opportunities that already seem to be there.
Well, my internships in my case directly translated
to my full time employment, so they were among
the most valuable things that I did, and it
wasn't just the work I did which was relying
upon building new skills and tool sets, it
was also connecting with the mentors that
I worked with in various places.
Also critical, back to Miami University, was
my work at the art museum for 3 years, I had
an incredible depth and experience with collections
management, photography, exhibition installation,
having a diverse and immersive experience
as an internship and crafting that for yourself,
and also positioning yourself with that desire
to learn and maximize that experience is essential.
You have to arrive with an internship with
a prepared mind to focus on a goal because
typically you have limited time and limited
funds to execute that project and those things
can be real launching points for your future.
In regards to the logistics of finding an
internship, when I was an undergrad here I
took to the internet.
I mean you can Google anything, but I knew
certain museums I had in mind that I thought,
"I might like to work there" or "These could
be really good opportunities for me," and
I just explored what I could online, I made
phone calls, I talked to people and said,
"I'm an undergraduate student at Miami, these
are my interests, I want to intern for you.
How do I make that happen?"
So, do your research and explore what opportunities
are out there, but don't be afraid to pick
up the phone and call someone, don't be afraid
to email someone and say, "I want to work
for you," "How can I be an intern with you.
How can I make that happen?"
I ended up doing my first internship with
the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
They have, or had, an established internship
program, but I called ahead, spoke with a
few people at the museum, I didn't necessarily
have any connections, I wasn't a well-connected
person in the field, but I wasn't afraid to
call and ask questions, and that was mentioned
to me later when I got the internship, I met
the people I talked to on the phone and they
said, "We're glad you took the initiative,
we're so glad to have you here," and I was
so glad to be there.
When I got the internship, I did whatever
was asked of me, I asked questions, and found
other things I could do.
I also did an internship at the Dayton Art
Institute, which is where I'm from, so location-wise
that was easier for me.
But they didn't have a structured internship
program, I sort of created my own, but I would
say definitely don't be afraid to ask questions
before--ask what opportunities exist or how
you can make those opportunities exist.
Say, "I want to do this for you" and chances
are you'll get a positive response, especially
for internships.
I did my internships for credit, I didn't
get paid for them, but they paid for themselves
in the experience I learned, which may sound
kind of corny, but really I've used those
real world experiences ever since I did those
internships.
So, don't be afraid to ask questions and create
opportunities for yourself-- say, "I can do
this for you.
How can we work together on this project?"
Over the course of being at Miami and my 2
years of grad school post-Miami, I've had
9 internships, so I put full force on the
gas.
And in response to your resume question, internships
sometimes will speak so much more when you
do have that experience.
I also didn't have many connections, but I
wasn't afraid to ask people around me--people
that were friends with my parents, people
that were friends with professors or professors
themselves.
I'm really stubborn and at first I thought
I could do this all on my own and I don't
need anybody's help, but honestly this is
the way the world works.
If you have someone who has a friend who's
on the board of a museum or works at a museum
or has interned at a museum, call them, ask
them to put in a good word for you because
that's going to do so much more and get your
name recognized so much more by someone who's
responsible for selecting that process.
Because if they don't know you and you've
got a degree and you have good grades, that's
great, but do not be afraid to call on people
to make calls for you.
That might sound a little, I don't know, weird,
but it made a huge difference for me.
And do as many internships as possible.
I did 3 internships at one time plus going
to school full-time in grad school--two for
course credit, one for pay.
But they were so valuable because I was learning
about art history at the same time through
that collection and also learning the practical
knowledge of applying art into what I wanted
to do as a profession, so just do as many
as possible.
And also, volunteering--don't be afraid to
put a volunteer opportunity on your resume,
as well.
It may not be officially recognized as an
internship, but just the fact that you put
your time into doing something that you don't
have to, that also speaks really well.
I think showing the initiative whether it's
through internships or, like Leslie pointed
out, through volunteer opportunities, showing
that you've taken the initiative and embraced
your interests or passion and have done things
that aren't required, you've gone above and
beyond to embrace those opportunities I think
will pay off.
It shows on your resume--it shows to be able
to say here's my academic experience, but
here's my real world experience.
This is how I've taken those skills and talents
and I've put them to use in the field, and
being able to show people you've taken steps
to make that happen I think will be hugely
beneficial.
And then you have people who are your references
who can vouch for you.
Make sure you keep good contacts at all those
places, make sure you have their phone numbers
ready.
They will ask for your references and they
will call them, they don't put them on there
for show, they will call them.
Great perspective.
What is the day-to-day like in your job?
This is a good question to get a sense of
what it's like to have a career in the arts.
So, if you're first point of question is "how
many screens do I have in front of me every
day," it's typically 5 or 6.
So, my day-to-day activity is a lot of working
with the digitization of the collection, and
it's also project management.
So, I work across the museum with the archival
departments, with our libraries trying to
figure out how we can help people work on
different projects whether it's an exhibition,
publication, an app, a multimedia experience,
delivering them the content, assets, and information
they need for their projects.
I also have the fortune of experimenting with
our media lab which is run by Don Undeen who
does incredible work with 3-D printing, software
development, oculus rift, and various experimenting
with what's the frontier of digital technologies
for the museum.
So my approach is thinking more about the
public experience of that and the scholarly
practice around those digital technologies.
I'm also the Social Media Curator for Museums
and the Web, which is the largest international
museums and technology conference, so a lot
of my discourse happens with the Google Glass
that I wear and interactions with my colleagues
around the world, having a dialogue with them
using social media about my professional practice
and conversation.
So it's a completely immersed experience and
I'm talking to people from Brazil, Germany,
China, France, California, at all different
times of the day.
So, my professional practice doesn't stop,
it happens 24/7 whenever the information comes
in.
That's my day-to-day experience.
So, you don't have a sense of "I get to the
office at 8:30 and I go home at 5:30"?
My office is anywhere and everywhere.
I do have an office and I go there at a certain
time and leave at a certain time for the most
part.
But I think Neal and I do have some overlap
in that we both do a lot of communications
work, which is pretty general, but social
media is very important and that does make
up a big portion of my day.
So, I'm the Assistant Director of Communications
at a school which is a high school but it
actually a constituent institution of UNC
so it functions more like a small university
campus.
My day-to-day, I do spend a fair amount of
time with my laptop or with my phone doing
social media and news stuff, I field a lot
of inquiries from newspapers or people around
the state, I do a whole lot of writing for
my job so that happens on the day-to-day,
but that writing can range from anything from
a more academic discourse or material to 140
characters on Twitter, so that gives a nice
variation to my day for me.
I do back-and-forth between different types
of writing and between different content areas
and I do a number of video production projects,
as well--I produce video content for the school,
I do some photography stuff, so that gives
some nice up-and-down, back-and-forth.
So, I do spend a lot of time with the screen,
but I have some variation and it's a nice
way to embrace different media throughout
the day and to find different tools that work
best for whatever the specific job entails.
I don't have a typical day.
I can work anywhere from 10-hour to 12-hour
to 14-hour days.
Monday nights up until recently I was in the
office by 8:00 in the morning and I would
get home by midnight and that's because I
was helping produce this television show.
But most days it's a 10- or 11-hour day and
I could be wearing a hard hat in a construction
site for the White House Visitor Center that
I'm helping remodel, and then I could be on
the south lawn of the White House at 3 A.M.
filming a nautical sunrise, I could be on
a ladder looking for certain marks that correspond
to accession files on a chandelier, I could
be writing an article, I mean it's a Jill-of-all-trades.
I do a lot, but I love it because it keeps
me busy and busy is good, but I can't tell
you if I have a typical day.
Every single day of this past week, past month,
past 3 years has been different.
I think you'll see that more and more, too,
with our ever-evolving world and things change
very quickly, but I think in general all of
us have spoken to the fact that our jobs embrace
a lot of different elements whether it's up
and down from a desk to other tasks or the
type of tools we're using to make different
things happen, but I think more and more jobs
are getting more diverse and require a diversity
of spirits, a diversity of background, just
being open to different things within a certain
job.
Let's maybe have one last question and then
maybe we can socialize a bit more.
Is there one last question from anyone they'd
like to ask?
Is it okay if I mention something quickly?
Of course.
So, today I had the pleasure of visiting the
Center for Digital Scholarship at King Library
and also the Armstrong Interactive Media Studies
program which is fantastic.
These are two resources that I would highly
encourage students to take advantage of while
at Miami.
The Center of Digital Scholarship is influenced
by digital humanities thinking, by digitization
and digital scholarly practice, and the Interactive
Media Studies program is immersed in game
theory, web design, digital design, and combining
these skills with art history I think will
make it essential for current students to
build strong skill sets in the future.
I was really impressed with where Miami is
now having that awareness, having the resources
dedicated to that, so I just wanted to mention
that for students to take advantage of those
resources.
Great, so there's some drinks and snacky things
over on the wall, and I encourage you to talk
and approach the panelists here and thank
them for coming and also talk with them more
about your ideas, but let's all just give
a round of applause to our panelists for coming
and talking to us this evening.
