Collecting 101

Norah Nguyen has always been drawn to museums and curation. During a trip to Atlanta last summer, she found herself welcomed into circles of artists and curators who invited her to their shows. But as a chemical engineering student, Nguyen never imagined that she’d have the opportunity to explore that interest academically at UMass.

That changed when she signed up for Collecting 101, the University Museum of Contemporary Art’s course that brings undergraduate students into the rarely seen world of museum acquisition. Students learn about how museums build their collections, and by the semester’s end, help decide what the museum should purchase next.

“It’s really an immense opportunity for a student from a non-conventional background to be involved and learn more about the arts,” Nguyen said. “It was my first step into the art space on campus.”

“Collecting 101 is something that fuels me personally, outside of my hardcore curriculum,” she added.

Team-taught by Visual Arts Director Kristina Durocher and the museum’s Collection Manager Jenny Lind and Associate Director Amanda Herman, the course’s aim is twofold: Teach students about museum collections, and acquire new works of art by women, artists of color, and Indigenous artists for the museum’s permanent collection.

During the semester, students study museum criteria for acquiring work, research artists in depth, and meet with artists and curators. The course culminates in Vote for Art, a public event in which students present works for potential acquisition and community members vote on which piece to add to the museum’s collection.

Collecting 101 is open to all majors. For junior Sariah Lewis — a transfer student who recently switched her major from film to art history — the class provided clarity and confidence.

“There are always doubts when you’re doing this kind of change, especially with a major,” Lewis said. “Then I started this course and I realized … this is something that I want to continue to do. It’s something I can see myself doing after college, working closely with museums.”

One of the most influential parts of the class, Lewis said, was talking with the artists directly.

“The good thing about working with contemporary artists, especially ones that are still putting out work, is that they are super accessible,” Lewis said. “Talking to the artist is the best source you can get.”

Lewis and Nguyen were both on the team that presented the Pillow Drawing by Eric-Paul Riege, a sculpture that intertwines memory, ancestry, and culture through textures and family portraiture.

“Understanding and coming face-to-face with the piece, not in a physical sense, but doing your research and really understanding artwork so closely and then trying to convince people to see it that way, that was probably the most influential portion of the class.”

This year’s students also worked closely with two respected galleries: Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts — located at the foothills of Oregon’s Blue Mountains on the ancestral homelands of the Umatilla, Walla Walla and Cayuse people — and Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Representatives from each gallery met with students virtually to introduce the four artists whose works students were considering for their presentations.  

“It was very eye-opening for me to hear straight from the curators or the gallery directors whose artwork we [were] considering acquiring,” said Nguyen. “We got to hear about their art practice, history, their inspirations, as well as their like, the interpretations behind their famous artwork.”

As part of their research, students also traveled to Boston to visit Indigenous Present, an exhibition featuring fifteen artists exploring abstraction, and Aáni yéi xat duwasáakw (I Am Called Land), a solo show by Indigenous artist Nicholas Galanin at the MassArt Art Museum. The visit provided historical context and depth to the students’ understanding of work by Indigenous artists and connected to the themes and approaches of the artists whose work the museum is considering. 

“We also got to see different opportunities potentially for our future,” Lewis said. “Sometimes majors can kind of get put in a box. … I think that this class was an opportunity to see, hey, this is something you could do too.”

Nguyen says the class was a “tremendous” learning experience.

"Before joining this class, I viewed artwork from a normal gallery visitor perspective," she said. "Now, I really understand the research behind the artwork, the history, the inspiration that the artist drew from."

At Vote for Art, Nguyen’s and Lewis’s proposed piece, Eric-Paul Riege’s Pillow Drawing, was selected for purchase, along with another team's proposal, Star WallowingBull’s Reminiscence.

“I’m proud about it,” Lewis said. “I feel like our group did really well, and I’m super proud to see our work get recognized.”

Nguyen said, “I think it is empowering. As a student, I didn’t think I’d ever have a vote or say in the museum’s purchase. So, having the opportunity to do this as part of a class is incredible.”