Newsletter - Spring 2001
From the Director

Each member of the staff takes seriously the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum's function as a teaching institution. While the museum's galleries are closed for renovation and expansion, it has been impossible for us to carry out our primary mission in the way we have over the past several decades, by making works of original art available to students and faculty of the College. However, the museum continues to provide a variety of learning opportunities.

The location of a series of "micro-exhibitions," in the courtyard of the Mount Holyoke College Library, has enabled us to garner the attention of some new audiences. Students walking through the courtyard toward the reading room, some of whom might not have been regular museum visitors in the past, couldn't help but notice the selection of Native American artifacts installed there during the first part of fall semester. A second exhibition, examining Chinese footbinding, attracted even more attention and stimulated considerable discussion. A gallery talk by Mount Holyoke historian Jonathan Lipman, "Pretty in Pain: The Politics and Aesthetics of Chinese Footbinding," was attended by more than 70 people.

Meanwhile, the museum continues to serve as a laboratory for learning by providing a variety of hands-on experiences. Student workers are involved with the process of inventorying the permanent collection - 13,000 objects must be accounted for and logged into the museum's database. Some students have received training in art handling techniques and assist the professional staff with checking the condition of each work and packing them properly in preparation for moving them out of the building.

A team of 15 students is involved with the museum's education outreach program this year. They receive training under the direction of education coordinator Amy Dane in preparation for conducting a lesson plan about archaeology for middle-school classes in the region. For the past four years, this classroom session served as preparation for a subsequent museum visit and a tour of the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquities. While school tours are not available, the museum is providing curriculum packets for teachers, with slides of the museum's ancient collections and discussion guides. Museum docents will also visit area schools to make presentations of these materials for teachers. Information about the in-school lessons was mailed to teachers last fall, and within two weeks, every available slot on the schedule was filled. We are gratified that teachers find our program so useful, but we are also mindful that Mount Holyoke students have a meaningful involvement in this program.

Among the rich menu of opportunities for involvement with the museum, the Student Advisory Committee is the fastest growing. A group of students works with me each year to devise new and more effective ways in which the museum can serve student needs and interests. The committee also organizes and implements activities in conjunction with museum programs and exhibitions. For more information about participating with this group or any of museum's student programs, including internships, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you get involved.

—Marianne Doezema