Hello everyone, I just completed my second week at the Columbus Museum of Art! This week was a fun mix of things, from various Excel projects, program projects, and a rewarding outreach experience! I started off my week by concluding my research on existing college-age programs at other art institutions and presenting my findings to my supervisor Julie on Wednesday. In the end, I thoroughly surveyed 14 leading institutions in the US for programs, special events, and academic opportunities available for/target at ages 18-25. Although I am still early in the ideating phase of my own program proposal, Julie and I have begun to workshop a “back to school” event at the Pizzuti that could potentially take place this September! In addition to my current research, I hope to interview the Columbus Foundation fellows to gain more insight into what kinds of extracurricular events that fellow university students would be interested in attending. 

Our biweekly fellow professional development session on Wednesday was also a highlight of the week! It was wonderful to hear everyone’s week 1 updates and learn about the different tasks we are all taking on at vastly different nonprofits. Dr. Lomax gave a presentation on the many roles that the Columbus Foundation plays locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. We also watched a TedTalk by Simon Sinek to learn about the why-forward approach and the law of diffusion of innovation and Dr. Lomax led a very enlightening discussion about power and how we all inherently have power by nature of being human. Another highlight of the week was getting lunch with my fellow fellow Eva at the museum’s cafe during our break!

In the latter half of the week, I worked on a future programs database in Excel, which contained key information about upcoming programs for internal reference. I also created a database for potential contacts from external organizations (e.g. OSU and CCAD faculty) to invite to future programs, based on individual areas of interest and expertise. Today (Friday), Julie and I met the teen participants in CMA//Next at the Pizzuti location to discuss various careers in the arts. This summer’s CMA//Next teens are designing programming for young people, planned around the current exhibition on view. It was exciting to hear their perspectives and plans for the opening event! Tomorrow (Saturday), I plan to attend the museum’s documentary film screening of THIRD ACT, a special event accompanying the East of the Pacific exhibition. 

An exciting announcement is that the Columbus Museum of Art is now offering FREE admission for all visitors under 25 starting on July 1st, thanks to a $4 million lead gift from the Walter Foundation. Be sure to come visit us at the museum this summer!!

– Muji