Student Picks
Your choice
Your vision
Your show
What is Student Picks?
Student Picks is SCMA’s student exhibition program. Each month a selected student has the opportunity to organize a one-day exhibition using the Cunningham Center’s collection of prints, drawings and photographs. Run by lottery, Student Picks is open to ALL Smith students, regardless of major, class year or experience. The exhibitions are held in the Cunningham Center on the first Friday of each month during the academic year, from 12–4 PM.
Student Picks is a twofold invitation. The Museum extends an invitation to students: into the collection, into the behind-the-scenes of the museum, to engage with visual art in a unique and personal way. But students also extend an invitation: they share their vision, their show, with the wider community.
How Do You Enter the Student Picks Lottery?
Ballot boxes will be available in the Museum lobby, Campus Center, Neilson Library, Hillyer Art Library, and Young Science Library from August 31 until September 21, 2012. You can enter the lottery as many times as you like!
We will pick seven winners and two alternates by Wednesday, September 26.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Is Student Picks a big time commitment?
- Your time commitment is up to you. Generally, you meet with Cunningham Center staff between 1 and 3 times the month before your show to explore the collection, choose a topic, and make your selections.
- I’ve never studied art before! Do I need prior experience with museums or art history?
- Prior experience is absolutely not required. Most students who do Student Picks have little or no prior experience with museums or art history.
- How much help will I receive preparing my show?
- Cunningham Center staff will guide you every step of the way. We’ll also ask you for a guest list for your show and send out invitations to everyone you know: friends, family, faculty.
- Which works of art can I pick from?
- You can pick anything from SCMA’s collection of prints, drawings and photographs. In the past, students have selected works by artists as diverse as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Cindy Sherman, Claes Oldenburg, Ansel Adams, Pablo Picasso and Käthe Kollwitz.
For more information, please contact Julie Warchol, Post-Baccalaureate Curatorial Fellow, at 413-585-2764, or jwarchol@smith.edu.
Student Picks is supported by the Estelle Glatt Sosland ’46 and Morton Sosland Museum Director’s Fund.
Image: Lori Harris '11 pictured with selections from Martin Puryear's portfolio Cane at her Student Picks exhibition Women, Woodblock Prints and Words: Locating Cultural Similarities in the Work of Martin Puryear and Ukiyo-e.