Museum Practice: Introduction to fine Arts Museums and Research Collections

This course is an overview, introductory course of the basic elements of Fine Art Museums and Artifact Research Collections. We will be focusing on key professional categories of activities used within the Fine Art Museum system, including Administration and Leadership, Collections and their Management, Community Outreach, Curatorial Design and Exhibition Display, Fundraising, Interpretation of Thematic Ideals, Registration and Organization, and Security and Sustainability. This course concentrates on the advantages of on-site experience within a Fine Art Museum and Research Collections setting and the inherent multi-disciplinary nature of their Missions, Visions, and Work.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students will develop skills to demonstrate a working familiarity with the organization, functions, and practices of Fine Art Museums and Artifact Research Collections.
2. Students will investigate the practices of Fine Art Museums and Research Collections, learning to think critically and to use these critical thinking skills in evaluating museum exhibits and public programs, to question the relationship between organization and art/artifacts, as well as that of patrons and their power of economic, political, and social involvement in the museums development. (In this capacity, creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information will all be addressed, as well as the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision making.)
3. Students will be able to clearly communicate the concepts of Fine Art Museums and Research Collections in both written and verbal capacities, while learning to develop and maintain an independent artistic voice and identity of their own. (In this capacity, effective development, interpretation, and expression of ideas through written, oral, and visual communication will be gained and evaluated.)
4. Students will engage in the museum art community and become aware of the multi-faceted world of art and all it has to offer through visits to local galleries, museums, and research collection facilities, in which specific assignments working directly with the artworks and artifacts themselves will play an integral part in their comprehension of their own personal role in the world of art and its history. (In this capacity, intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities, shall support the student’s personal engagement and comprehension of the art.)