37 IN THE FALL OF 2016 STUDENTS AND MILLENNIAL alumnae came together for Smith Alumnae: Connecting Art + People, the seventh annual Emily Hall Tremaine Symposium. This program was created to shed light on the kinds of careers students might wish to follow with training in art and art history, and to convene alumnae working in these fields. The theme of the symposium was chosen to celebrate the life and inspiration of Ann E. Musser (1973–2014), the museum’s former associate director for academic programs and public education. Ann believed that “all museums have the opportunity to be hubs for connections between people, ideas, cultures and even for someone to connect more fully with themselves, or who they aspire to be. What a privilege!” Alumnae speakers included innovators, educators and activists working in art museums and community organizations. Anne Manning ’89, director, education and interpretive programs, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, facilitated a discussion with Sara Bodinson ’99, director, interpretation, research and digital learning, Museum of Modern Art, and Kimberly Drew ’12, social media manager, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and founder, Black Contemporary Art on Tumblr. All three shared how their passion for art inspires their work to engage people within the museum setting. Affecting social change through cultural work in communities was the focus of the second panel led by moderator Denise Gray ’97, manager of school and alumni programs, ArtworxLA. Shereen Choudhury ‘11, co-founder, creative director, Green Seed Arts in Los Angeles, spoke of her mission to merge the transformative power of the arts with mindfulness and community action. Leila Tamari ’11 told of how she pursued her interest in public art by first becoming a programming coordinator at Creative Time in New York City. Currently, Leila is a program officer for the National Creative Placemaking Fund at ArtPlace America. Keynote speaker Olukemi Ilesanmi AC ’98, executive director of The Laundromat Project in New York City, offered the idea of “creativity as a liberation technology” and asked the audience to consider, “To what communities do you hold and feel yourself accountable?” One alumna’s impression of the day provides a wonderful summary of the program: “Images of YOUNG Smith women presenting themselves as successful, composed, experienced, confident; pursuing innovative careers and mostly unafraid; thinking about making potential changes in their lives, and making changes in the way art is accessed by others, from high-end institu- tions to much smaller installations; and reaching diverse segments of American society, particularly POC and the young. HURRAH for these women. I was WOWED!” Support for the Emily Hall Tremaine Symposium is provided by the Emily Hall Tremaine Fund through the initiative of Dorothy Tremaine Hildt ‘49 STUDENT– ALUMNAE ENGAGEMENT/EMILY HALL TREMAINE SYMPOSIUM SMITH ALUMNAE: CONNECTING ART+PEOPLE A video of the complete program is available on the SCMA website: smith.edu/artmuseum TOP: 2016 Tremaine Symposium presenters (left to right), Anne Manning ‘89, Olukemi Ilesanmi AC ’98, Kimberly Drew ’12, Sara Bodinson ‘99, Leila Tamari ‘11, and Denise Gray ‘97 ABOVE: (left) Anne Manning ’89, Kimberly Drew ’12, and Sara Bodinson ’99 (right) Ann Musser’s widower, Ozzie Ercan, with their daughter, Zeytin Ercan