{"id":2383,"date":"2024-08-12T20:10:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T20:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/rma\/?p=2383"},"modified":"2024-08-12T22:37:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T22:37:44","slug":"sophie-foster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/rma\/2024\/08\/12\/sophie-foster\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fantastical Experience: Working at Rollins Museum of Art"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Sophie Foster<\/p>\n\n\n

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As a Rollins College<\/a> student, I had many early encounters with the Rollins Museum of Art<\/a>. 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My First Experience with Curation <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Works on view in In Our Eyes: Women\u2019s, Nonbinary and Transgender Perspectives from the Collection<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u2014these tasks and the museum environment engaged me like nothing before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our exhibition, In Our Eyes: Women\u2019s, Nonbinary and Transgender Perspectives from the Collection<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>was my introduction to both working with the museum and the role of the curator.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fred W. Hicks Curatorial Fellowship<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Sophie wrote the didactics for Night Bloom<\/em> by Mary Grigoriadis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Since declaring an art history major my freshman year, I had been intrigued by the museum\u2019s Fred W. Hicks Curatorial Fellowship<\/a>, 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.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was surprised by how much I learned about artwork in this role. From researching 16th<\/sup> 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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<\/a><\/blockquote>