Hello everyone, done with my third week CMA!

This week was calmer than the last two weeks in terms of events, but just as busy in the office. I spent the majority of this week workshopping College Night Shift: Back to School Night, one of my primary projects of the summer. I created a materials cost list with an estimated budget, began corresponding with members of the Ohio Union Activities Board at OSU, created a college student engagement survey, drafted marketable language for the event, and presented my progress to the heads of the curatorial department. I’m very grateful for the supportive and thought-provoking feedback that I received from my supervisor Julie and the rest of the team! In addition to this project, I also continued my research on tours and lecture series at other art institutions, which will help our team develop our own tour and lecture programs in the coming months!

A new thing this week was inventory! Inventory occurs every three years at the museum to ensure that the art in storage is properly labeled, correctly accounted for in the database, and stored in the right location. It was my first time handling original artworks in the museum (with gloves!) and getting more familiar with the database and labeling system. During my two, 2-hour inventory shifts, I mainly handled American art, namely prints from the 20th century. My favorite piece was a cartoon still of Tom and Jerry! Participating in inventory was a great “behind the scenes” experience and revealed just how many works that the museum has acquired since its founding in 1878. 

Because the team at CMA is so large, my supervisor encouraged me to reach out to other individuals, inside and outside of our curatorial department, to learn more about other positions that interest me. In the coming weeks, I have scheduled six 1-on-1s with staff from the curatorial, donor relations, and social media teams. Today, I had a very insightful and exciting chat with Lydia, Director of Marketing and Communications at CMA. I learned a lot more about her responsibilities at the museum, previous education and career experiences, and briefly talked about my college program proposal. I’m excited to meet with her again soon to workshop a marketing strategy for College Night Shift! 

Looking forward to next week, 

Muji