STUDENTS CURATE DIGITAL GALLERIES IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA MUSEUM OF ART
Franke Honors students tour the UAMA exhibit dedicated to the theft, discovery, and eventual return of the notable Willem de Kooning painting, Woman Ochre.
Since fall 2022, Franke Honors Associate Professor of Practice, Dr. Kate Alexander, has been collaborating with the University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA) to give Honors students the experience of interacting with art, up close and personal. Dr. Alexander worked closely on the collaboration with Chelsea Farrar, Curator of Community Engagement, who, along with Dr. Alexander, has been the primary visionary behind the partnership.
Students in Dr. Alexander’s course, HNRS 203H: Art & Borders, have the opportunity to put their interests and knowledge into practice by creating online interactive galleries for the public to use. Each gallery is curated around a theme and includes images and short descriptions of artworks from the University of Arizona Museum of Art collection.
A General Education class within the Franke Honors College, Art and Borders goes beyond the traditional “boundaries” that might come to mind when you think of an art history class. It seeks to create a space where students can expand their understanding of art and how it impacts their perception of the world around them.
Dr. Alexander’s interdisciplinary background informs much of the course material—which ranges from visual art, music, dance, architecture, and more. She further expands perspectives by bringing in professionals from diverse backgrounds, from museum curators to Japanese taiko drummers.
Albert Chamillard (left), Exhibition Specialist, gives Franke Honors students a glimpse into the art restoration process in the basement of the museum.
The Honors Village’s proximity to an acclaimed AAM institution like the University of Arizona Museum of Art (which also happens to have free admission for students) presents a wonderful opportunity for scholars. Each of Dr. Alexander’s class visits with the UAMA involve a different theme based on activities or exhibits examined during the session. In mid-March, the topic of discussion was the life and death cycles of art. Students were guided by the knowledgeable staff at UAMA and toured an exhibit detailing the death & rebirth of the painting Woman Ochre, and they also had the opportunity to see the restoration room and the vault of the museum, where art is stored and kept for future exhibition or trade with other institutions.
Courses like Art and Borders are foundational to the Franke Honors experience. They expand students’ potential within their chosen degree path by unlocking new ways of thinking and expanding the frameworks they have for understanding the world around them. Learning about different perspectives of art history “give(s) students facility with the critical language to discuss and evaluate art, and a foundation in critical theories that help frame understandings of expressive culture as integral to the formation of our culturally-embedded selves.”
VIEW HNRS 203H: ART & BORDERS STUDENT GALLERIES
Interested in exploring a class with Dr. Alexander? Learn more about her course offerings.