It’s happening… School supplies are rolling out and the new semester at Sheridan College is about to begin. In addition to having the honor of teaching photography and printmaking courses at the university, I am also the director of Edward A. Whitney’s Gallery of His Galleries. The start of a new semester promises a new calendar of exhibitions, a new beginning.
The Whitney Gallery is a space that hosts rotating contemporary exhibitions by leading artists from around the world. Gallery patrons can always brush in the texture of his strokes, be dazzled by the spectrum of colors, and pay attention to the flicker of a video. But that’s just part of what makes our gallery so special.
What sets us apart from other galleries in the area? The Whitney Gallery is an educational gallery. Yes, the wall work is spectacular, but the behind-the-scenes work is life-changing. Our students become gallery assistants and gain real-world experience by working with professional artists to put their classroom learning into practice.
Each month a pile of boxes arrives and presents a new challenge. This job is a lot like life and you never know what will happen. Student gallery assistants are required to evaluate and plan their work. How can I make this sculpture float? What tools do you need to install sound from the ceiling? How did the artist write the instructions? How did the artist package the work? How would you light the exhibition? All these questions and answers form a road map for how you might one day install your own art.
After unpacking the pieces, the most fun part – the design of the exhibition, which pieces go where. Students will act as mini-curators and think about how gallery visitors might engage with the exhibition. They become the conduit between what the artist is trying to say and how they can help further the message to the community. If you’re lucky, the artist will bring the work and help you install it. Students can puzzle over how, what, and why artists created their work. They can build connections with someone outside our community and hear different perspectives.
Sure, students are learning how to level a painting, light a vase, and hook up an HDMI cable, but they’re also learning tools that are useful outside the gallery. They learn how to communicate with each other, work as a team, and have difficult conversations. It’s not always easy for him to hang paintings from floor to ceiling with eight people at once, but there’s no obstacle he couldn’t overcome.
If you have the opportunity to view the wonderful exhibits at the Edward A. Whitney Galleries, be delighted to witness the hard work and learning of our students.
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