The World of Work is a recent addition to the vast artwork collections in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. The exhibit opened Dec. 4, 2021, and it features the work of five high school students who were paid interns at the museum over the summer of 2021. This program allowed them to learn every step of the process of running a museum exhibition, helping them get their work from the classroom to the museum walls.
The program originally started in 2006 and aimed to reach out to underserved and underrepresented junior and senior students. The JSMA wanted to teach selected students about working at a museum. For the first time, this year’s program also has a physical exhibit, which allows people to see what these students have been working on.
“Because these folks got a different experience because of COVID, what if we gave them the opportunity to both contribute a piece of artwork that they work on during the program but also kind of curate and create the exhibition itself?” Erica Rife, UO graduate student in the nonprofit management program, said.
Rife reached out to schools and went through the internship applications to pick the final five students who would work in the program. Rife worked with the students to help set up in-person sessions whenever possible and made sure they kept on track with the process of creating the exhibit.
Rife said, “Just meeting with the students regularly and making sure they have their questions answered and that they are being supported in more ways than just artwork” is important to her.
It was an opportunity to learn about all aspects of museums, expanding from just curating an exhibit. They went into the basement of the JSMA to learn how to matt and frame pieces for display, which they eventually did with their own work. Learning these skills helped them with the professional and detailed aspects that go into every exhibit in museums.
Artist workshops via Zoom helped the students learn how to create and analyze art in new ways. Sherri Jones, assistant administrator of education at the JSMA, conducted a visual thinking strategies workshop with the group. “It’s a way to create deeper meaning in an experience. It’s a way to build critical thinking skills,” Jones said.
Even though Rife is working from a small sample size, she believes, through talking with her students and seeing their work, “the kids are alright,” and she, “just wasn’t thinking things in such a holistic way as these students are –– to see how contemplative they are and to see them dive into and be engaged with all these different ways of expression.” To see this all come together for them was a fantastic end to Rife’s work with the students and helped her learn more about what these young artists are going through.
This gave them the ability to express themselves with poetry and their favorite art forms. One of the pieces, “Untitled” by Kyra Snyder, features a deeply personal reflection of mental health with its sketchy lines and different mediums with pencil, pen and oil pastels –– putting their energy into how they want to express these feelings through curating something bigger than just one drawing. They added to the exhibit with poetry, photos, journal drawings and descriptions written about their art and the process.
The exhibit serves as a physical representation of the program and helps spread the word about it for future potential artists and teachers who want to get involved. Unfortunately, next year’s program won’t have an exhibition due to scheduling at the JSMA, which schedules years in advance. But due to the interaction they’ve had so far from the exhibit, it could return at some point.
The World of Work exhibit will be on display at the JSMA until Feb. 27. The exhibit is on the lower north floor of the museum. Drop by to learn more about the artists’ experiences and view their works.
