by Sophie Foster

As a Rollins College student, I had many early encounters with the Rollins Museum of Art. Whether for an art history class visit or through an extracurricular program, I grew a strong affinity for both the artwork within the collection and the space itself. 

My First Experience with Curation 

Going into my junior year, I was thrilled to be taking the Museum Practicum course for my art history major, a collaborative class where students work with each other and the museum to curate an exhibition. I was always curious about how the curatorial process happened, bouncing it around in conversation with family as a possible career path but having no real idea of what it looked like.

Throughout this class, I became enamored with the thought of becoming a curator. The role requires you to work at a fast pace, researching artists, writing labels, and connecting themes across artworks—these tasks and the museum environment engaged me like nothing before.

Our exhibition, In Our Eyes: Women’s, Nonbinary and Transgender Perspectives from the Collection, was my introduction to both working with the museum and the role of the curator.  

Since declaring an art history major my freshman year, I had been intrigued by the museum’s Fred W. Hicks Curatorial Fellowship, a paid opportunity to work directly with the curator to formulate an exhibition to be displayed at the museum and to learn more about their daily tasks. I enthusiastically applied later in my junior year, and while abroad in Paris, I received notice that I was selected for the role. Already, I had the sense that this experience would be pivotal, and it has proven to be just that.  

During my senior year, I worked closely with RMA Curator Dr. Gisela Carbonell on various daily tasks, such as researching artists for exhibitions, writing didactic labels, recording audio guides, giving a tour, and preparing information for new acquisitions. I found myself entering the museum every day with passion for what I was doing and a persistent desire to learn new facets of the job.

I was surprised by how much I learned about artwork in this role. From researching 16^th century Italian portraits to writing labels for contemporary works created in 2023, I covered a wide range of art history that supplemented and expanded upon my coursework.  

Student Spotlight: Rollins College Student Sophie Foster Shares What It’s Like To Be The Fred W. Hicks Curatorial Fellow at Rollins Museum Of Art

The Fantastical Mundane

Simultaneously, I was developing my own exhibition as a capstone for the fellowship, The Fantastical Mundane. Having been given the unique opportunity to curate eleven, 17^th century Dutch paintings from the Grasset-Linares Collection, I underwent the full curatorial process with guidance and immense support from Dr. Carbonell. From researching to writing the exhibition materials to choosing the layout and wall color, the hands-on curatorial experience I had through this fellowship has shaped the dreams of my future and taught me invaluable lessons. 

What’s Next? 

After graduating, I’ve continued at the RMA as a Summer Intern. Partnering again with Dr. Carbonell, we have collaboratively written didactic materials for new works on view at the Alfond Inn and for the Fall 2024 exhibition, Beyond the Surface: Capturing Meaning through Portraiture. I gave three tours of The Fantastical Mundane, as well as continued with my research of new artists in the permanent collection.  

From the start of the Hicks Fellowship through this internship, I have seen enormous growth in my research, writing, and public speaking skills. I feel thoroughly prepared and beyond excited to continue onto the next steps of my career journey, which will be attending the Curation: Contemporary Art and Cultural Management Master’s Program at University of Exeter, England. I will always carry the lessons learned from my time here with me into the future, and I cannot wait for the next time I return to the Rollins Museum of Art! 

---