2018 Hands-On Curatorial Program

EYE OPENER catalog Click to read.

In its fourth year, the Hands-On Curatorial Program at the Coe Center included high school students from the Academy of Technology and the Classics (ATC) and the Santa Fe Indian School (SFIS). Returning students Gailene Morgan (Meskwaki Nation & Tesuque Pueblo) and Ashlyn Lovato (Santa Clara Pueblo) are joined by new members, Aurora Escobedo (Tesuque Pueblo), Qootsvemna “Taka” Denipah (Ohkay Owingeh), and Roan Mulholland. The program provided an opportunity for students to work hands-on with the Coe collection of over 2,000 works of indigenous art from around the world. Through museum visits and weekly sessions, the curators learned how to create their own exhibition from the Coe collection by selecting objects, researching, drafting wall texts, writing a press release, designing graphics and the exhibition installation, as well as creating their own limited-run curator-designed t-shirts in collaboration with Santa Fe Teen Arts Center, formerly known as Warehouse 21. The participants built their own exhibition from the ground up.

Eye Opener, was open to the public from May 12 through July 1, 2018

We, as curators, began by selecting multiple objects from the Coe Collection that caught our eye. We then conducted in-depth research on each item, sharing with our peers what we uncovered at the Coe. We continue to learn information that we didn’t know before and build onto knowledge we already had to establish our view of the pieces. We have been able to experience that there’s more to this world than what is outside the door.

The Coe Center Hands-On Curatorial Program provides an opportunity for high school students to work hands-on with the Coe collection of over 2,300 works of Indigenous art from around the world. Through museum visits and weekly sessions over eight months, the curators learn how to create their own exhibition by selecting and researching objects, creating the exhibition title, writing a catalog, executing the press release, designing and installing the exhibition, and working with the public. Within this program, young curators gain a foundation of skills that they can take anywhere throughout their lives. The participants build their own exhibition from the ground up!