Art History Major Student Acquisition
We Are All Sacred: Student Acquisitions on Identity, Community, and Enduring Existence
Current Art History majors and alumni curated We Are All Sacred: Student Acquisitions on Identity, Community, and Enduring Existence, an exhibition of work purchased by SCU students for the de Saisset Museum. This is the first exhibition in the museum's history to be curated by students. Persia Liu ('22) in collaboration with Kelsey Elinski ('22) and Annika Singh ('23) selected works from the forty-five objects acquired by students enrolled in Art History courses, supported by Acquisitions for Diversity grants. In these courses, SCU undergraduate students learn how museums develop and maintain a permanent collection, research artists and artworks aligned with their coursework and the museum's collecting goals, and ultimately select works for the museum to purchase for its permanent collection. Several current art history professors--Andrea Pappas, Kate Morris, and Heather Clydesdale--have taught these courses, which have been offered since 2008. Liu, Elinkski, and Singh will soon release companion virtual exhibition, which will be viewable on the museum's website.
Image above: Tsherin Sherpa, Children of Heaven #1, 2018, gouache, acrylic and ink on cotton, de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University, work selected by students in SCU Professor Heather Clydesdale's winter 2019 class, ARTH 66: Fabricating Nature in East Asia. Funds for this purchase were made possible by the Hearst Foundation's Community Initiatives for the Arts grant (CIVA), 2019.6