BY: ANNA PRENTISS , JAMIE RAGER

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Florida State University’s Department of Art History will celebrate 40 years of symposia featuring graduate students’ original research within all areas of study, from art and architectural history to visual and material culture.

The 40th Annual Art History Graduate Student Symposium will take place from 1:30-6 p.m. Friday, March 1, and from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2, in the William Johnston Building, room 2005. The event is part of the College of Fine Arts anniversary celebration.

“For four decades, the Department of Art History has fostered the future of the discipline by hosting this student-focused conference and bringing internationally acclaimed scholars to our campus as keynote speakers,” said James Frazier, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “We look forward to many more years of celebrating and supporting these emerging scholars.”

Inaugurated in 1981, the annual event brings together students, professors and members of the community to share ideas and expertise. Students from around the country are invited to present their research in 20-minute talks followed by a Q&A with the audience, with opportunities for further discussion in social gatherings throughout the event.

Since 2020, the event has been organized by the Graduate Student Symposium Committee, a rotating elected group of art history master’s and doctoral students, three of whom serve as session chairs.

“The student committee has really taken the lead in planning the symposium,” said Jean Hudson, assistant chair of the Department of Art History. “This is a completely student-centered conference. We’re proud of the long tradition and the way the event has evolved and especially proud of our students who work so hard to bring it together.”

As an aspiring professional in art history, doctoral student Emma Huston emphasized the importance of the themes and subjects covered in the symposium.

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“Research and innovation in terms of art history is overlooked sometimes,” Huston said. “As art historians, we study the ways in which humanity understands their existence through material and visual culture. The more we can understand each other’s existence, the more we can work together for a better future.”

This year’s keynote speaker is Richard J. Powell, the John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History at Duke University. His presentation “Blackbeats: Cubism Reimagined” will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 1 in the William Johnston Building, room 2005.

Powell is a leading scholar in African American art and culture. His research focuses on American art, the arts of the African diaspora and contemporary visual studies. He was recently awarded the National Humanities Center Spring 2024 Fellowship for his presentation in the A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts series “Colorstruck! Painting, Pigment, Affect.”

“When students are exposed to great scholars, it opens their eyes to the greater network of universities and academics that they’re a part of,” Huston said. “Someone like Dr. Powell, who addresses such pertinent themes, is an excellent connection for them.”

Three paper sessions — Community Spaces in Focus, Meaning and Materiality, and Navigating Identity — will take place on Friday and Saturday, with a discussion after each speaker. Papers presented will be considered for inclusion in Athanor, the department’s internationally distributed, peer-reviewed journal.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit arthistory.com/sympo.

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The Art History Graduate Symposium is generously sponsored by the Dean of the College of Fine Arts and by a grant from the Congress of Graduate Students. 

By: Anna Prentiss, Jamie Rager

 

At The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida State University students can gain career-building experience working in a variety of museum departments such as archives, collections, development, education, library, and a performing arts theater.

Helping to facilitate these student experiences is The Ringling’s Associate Director of Academic Affairs and Collections, Jay Boda.

Since 2000, the museum has been governed by Florida State University, making it one of the largest university art museums in the nation. This connection gives FSU students access to the 66-acre campus, which boasts more than 200,000 square-feet of galleries featuring eclectic collections ranging from antiquity to contemporary.

Boda supervises academic programs at The Ringling and oversees its program team consisting of archives, collections, education and library departments. Programs like the Department of Art History’s Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies Master of Arts and the specialized program in Museum Education and Visitor-Centered Curation offer courses and internships at The Ringling.

“The Ringling is a major asset to our university and our students, and Dr. Boda himself is an incredible asset,” said Lorenzo Pericolo, chair of the Department of Art History. “His dedication to our Art Education and Art History students is unmatched.”

After 20 years of service in the United States Air Force, Boda retired as a Master Sergeant and followed his passion for education in museums. In 2011, he started his museum career as a volunteer docent at the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Boda answered questions about his life and work.

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What is your role as a faculty member at The Ringling?

On the academic affairs side, I oversee the programs related to higher education, such as internships and fellowships. Internships at The Ringling are connected to FSU’s art history and art education programs. On the collections side, I oversee the program team consisting of archives, collections, education, and library departments. While it’s easy to put your blinders on and stick to your lane, I try to help staff to think bigger and look at how we can maximize opportunities for a performance or an exhibition. We need to think about how to leverage our strengths across all departments to create the best experience for the visitor.

What unique perspectives do you believe you bring to the position?

I am a retired Air Force Master Sergeant — I served for 20 years, and I think that provides a specific perspective on collaboration, teamwork and seeing the bigger picture. I also think being in the military instilled in me a sense of public service. I have worked in different types of museums since I finished my education and I’m happiest working in a public capacity.

I started at The Ringling mid-pandemic when programming was more limited. Now, I’ve been trying to expand our audience. For example, I’m working with veteran groups and student-veteran groups. We want to show veterans what we can offer and that museums include them, too. It comes back to fostering empathy and understanding between our communities.

 

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota.

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A gallery view in The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. (Photo by Ron Blunt)

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How has your doctoral research through FSU’s Museum Education and Visitor-Centered Curation Program prepared you for your advancement in museum development

My doctoral research was specific to contentiousness in art museums. Art can elicit a lot of reactions from people. Sometimes it creates a sense of awe, sometimes it challenges and provokes us to question our values. Anyone in a museum who wears a badge and interacts with visitors speaks on behalf of the museum. I was curious as to how these museum professionals contend with gray-area topics.

FSU’s Museum Education and Visitor Centered Curation Program prepared me for what I do today because I try to instill a sense of empathy for the visitor within students and interns. We want to foster relevance and personal meaning for people who come into museums.

How do the classes you teach at The Ringling relate to FSU’s main campus?

I teach two graduate-level classes for the Department of Art History supporting the Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies Program (MCHS). Every student who starts at the MCHS program completes the first year of their master’s at FSU’s main campus in Tallahassee. After that first year, students have the option to take The Ringling Course. Here, they do a two-semester in-residence internship at The Ringling and take two graduate courses with me—one is on exhibition-making, the other on public programs.

What advice would you give FSU interns and students you work with?

Many students come into the internships with previous classroom experience in the museum or cultural heritage sector, so I try to operationalize what they’ve learned. My advice for students seeking careers in museums is that they need to show how they can positively impact the organizations they apply to. I assign skill-building tasks they can then include on a resume to demonstrate how they positively impacted The Ringling. Those hard skills are what a lot of employers need from early career professionals.  

For more information, visit ringling.org.