Museum Collecting 101

In 2019, the museum once again offered its long-running co-curricular program Museum Collecting 101. Since 2002, Dartmouth students in this program have chosen over two dozen photographs for the Hood Museum's collection. This year, a group whose members included a sophomore ('21) majoring in economics with a minor in art history, a senior ('19) majoring in geography, and a Tuck student gathered to learn about the museum's acquisition process. The program culminated in a trip to New York to view potential acquisitions, and the students ultimately chose two photographs, by Marie Hupfield and Polly Penrose, respectively.

Museum Club

The Museum Club launched in the fall of 2018, ahead of the Hood Museum of Art's reopening, with a mission: to engage students and empower them to further connect the museum to campus. With the promise of a new museum (and lots of pizza), we saw immediate interest from students across all class years and majors, ranging from art history to psychology and biology. By October, the inaugural cohort was meeting weekly to learn about the Hood, gain a better understanding of museum practice, and use their knowledge to launch new student engagement initiatives.

As part of their learning, the students met with different Hood Museum staff members to learn about their work and how it contributes to the larger institution. Meetings were also dedicated to student engagement opportunities. As the museum planned its student opening party, the group provided ideas and feedback that helped make the event a success. Over 1,300 students (20 percent of the student body) showed up to the event on January 31! Continuing that success, the club organized a new once-a-term event series called Hood after 5 that brings students together over art, food, drinks, and more. It's a chance for students to return regularly with their friends to see what's new (and what's cool) at the Hood Museum.

In April, a small club cohort went to Harvard Art Museums' Third Annual Student Museum Conference to learn from other students in the region about how they contribute to their museums, and to share their own experiences. Topics of discussion included tech and new media, difficult histories, curation and decision making, accessibility and outreach, and campus engagement.