I had the honor of being the ArtTable fellow at the Studio Museum in Harlem. The opportunity was presented to me by my program director. ArtTable is a professional organization dedicated to advancing the leadership of women in the visual arts. Through this organization, I applied to the Studio Museum in Harlem. The Studio Museum is the nexus for artists of African descent, locally, nationally, and internationally, and for work that has been inspired and influenced by Black culture. It is a site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society.The selection process was competitive and long. I had to submit a written application, and from there the committee at ArtTable decided whether to send my application through to the Studio Museum. Once my application was selected, I began the interview process. This entire process took 2 months.
When working at the museum I worked on two major projects. My first project was supporting the Curatorial collections team in the ongoing maintenance of digital records related to the Museum’s archive and collections. I worked primarily in the Museum’s two collections databases, NetX (digital asset management) and TMS (collection management), I researched, uploaded, and cataloged an assortment of digital material related to past programs, education events, and collections. My second project was more research-focused. I supported various ongoing projects at the Museum. I conducted research in the Museum Archives to support the Museum Archivist with internal and external reference requests, contributed to a historical timeline of the Museum's history in preparation for a major web development project, and researched early images related to the Museum so that they can be further cataloged.
My biggest takeaway from during this time is to be flexible, and it is okay to be upset when things don't go the way you wanted them to. There were a lot of obstacles I faced, like dealing with the housing crisis in New York and commuting issues. Regardless, I was able to work with and learn from the amazing curatorial staff at the museum. Unfortunately, the relationship with ArtTable did not pan out the way I wanted it to. However, I am still extremely grateful for this opportunity and the support I had along the way.
