HART 420 Museum Studies Fieldwork Seminar S24 – Page 2 – Bryn Mawr College

Grace Sawyer, BMC ’26

Teen and Adult Education and Documentation at Fleisher Art Memorial

Semester: Spring 2024

Praxis Course: HART B420 Museum Studies Fieldwork Seminar

Faculty Advisor: Matthew Feliz

Field Site: Fleisher Art Memorial

Field Supervisor: Suzanne Seesman

Praxis Poster:

Grace_Sawyer_Poster_Final_SP24

Further Context:

This semester, I worked at Fleisher Art Memorial, a community art school in south Philadelphia. Fleisher is a nonprofit that aims to make arts education accessible through both free and affordable classes and workshops for children, teens, and adults. I greatly enjoyed my time there with the education department. I started my internship working solely under the manager of adult education, but one of the best parts of working in a small institution like Fleisher is that I was given flexibility to work with other members of the department on different projects. My typical day at Fleisher could involve sitting in on an education department meeting, proofing adult class listings, and finishing the day assisting in Teen Lounge, a free after-school art and community program for Philly teens. It gave me a very well-rounded sense of how arts education and nonprofits function: I worked both behind-the-scenes and hands-on.

Working with the teens was always one of the highlights of my day. Teen Lounge is unique in the autonomy it allows the teen members: they choose their own teachers and workshops, vend their work at craft festivals across the city, organize events, and use the space however they want. My work with them was very hands-off, but I was able to help facilitate small, lower-sensory environments on busier days.

I chose to focus my presentation on documentation: I did not take photos every day at Fleisher, but the times that I did were incredibly memorable and fun. I spent a few nights photographing adult evening classes. My main objective was to take photos of classes that were dynamic and showed the fun, community-building aspects of Fleisher’s classes. I never wanted my photos to look boring or overly academic, as that is not the environment I observed. This was a very fun way of both practicing my photography skills, which I haven’t used for most of college, and getting to know the students and faculty of the adult programs. I also spent a few days in Teen Lounge both taking pictures and conducting interviews for a grant application.

I am so grateful for my experience at Fleisher, and it has gotten me interested in the world of arts in communities outside of museums.

Annalise Ashman, BMC ’24

Connecting the Past to the Present: African Collections at The Penn Museum

Semester: Spring 2024

Praxis Course: HART B420 Museum Studies Fieldwork Seminar

Faculty Advisor: Matthew Feliz

Field Site: The Penn Museum

Field Supervisors: Dwaune Latimer with the support of Larry McClenney, Sister Anne McCloskey, and Monique Scott

Praxis Poster:

AnnaliseAshman_Poster_FinalS24

Further Context:

Reflecting on my recent collections management internship at the Penn Museum, I immersed myself in a world of artifacts, databases, and exhibition research within the African Collections. Under the supervision of Dwaune Latimer, the keeper of the African Collections, I embarked on several research projects to delve deeper into the museum’s behind-the-scenes operations.

At the beginning of the internship, my primary goal was to gain insight into how museums process, catalog, and organize information within their databases, mainly when the collections are often used for research purposes to support academic and curatorial projects. I was eager to expand my knowledge and skillset in object handling, database management, and archival research. From day one, I learned the ins and outs of inventory, data entry, and archival research, focusing on artworks and objects from Ghana. I compiled a list of over one hundred objects, including the use of Adinkra symbols, a visual language rich in cultural significance and symbolism in West Africa. Throughout this process, I gained a deeper understanding of how these symbols communicate ideas about culture and identity through objects like gold weights, stools, knives, and curtains. Among my other projects, I also researched Moroccan jewelry-making done by the Amazigh or Berber people to provide an updated illustration of how one of the original necklaces in the collection may have looked.

Beyond the technical aspects of collections management, the internship also afforded me invaluable experience working with objects. The knowledge and skills I have gained will undoubtedly serve me well in future endeavors. As I bid farewell to the Penn Museum, I carry a new experience of dedicated research and hands-on learning.

Anna Keneally, HC ’26

Loom Weights and the Humanity within Objects not on Display

Semester: Spring 2024

Praxis Course: HART B420 Museum Studies Fieldwork Seminar

Faculty Advisor: Matthew Feliz

Field Site: The Penn Museum

Field Supervisor: Katherine Blanchard

Praxis Poster:

Anna Keneally_Poster_Final S24

Further Context:

During my time at the Penn Museum’s Near Eastern collection, under the supervision of Keeper Katherine Blanchard, my main tasks involved rehousing various artifacts from the Beth She’an site, located in modern-day Israel, and photographing them for inclusion in the digital database accessible to researchers. As we removed the objects from their original packaging, we ensured that each piece was accounted for before photographing them and placing them in new, clean bags. Each shelf and drawer presented a new array of materials representing different troves of material culture, stratified by excavation level and object type.

The Beth She’an site, which was my primary focus, was excavated in 1921. Over several excavation seasons, the museum acquired over 8,000 artifacts for its permanent collection, despite half of the finds being retained by the host country and now housed in the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem. For photography, we employed “shot-on” and “shot-down” techniques depending on the orientation of the objects. “Shot-on” photography emphasized the third dimension, ideal for objects like bowls and amphoras, while smaller items without a prominent third dimension, such as sherds, didn’t require this approach. By photographing and arranging the objects, I gained insights into their original use, enhancing my understanding and appreciation of their cultural significance.

Throughout this experience, I frequently photographed and rehoused loom weights, totaling over 100. Loom weights, typically made of clay or stone with a hole for securing strings on a loom, may appear visually similar at first glance. However, handling a large number of them allowed me to appreciate their diverse shapes and sizes, revealing the human aspect of material culture. Unlike artistic objects, loom weights prioritize function, serving as practical tools used in daily life. This aspect resonates with my love for material culture, as these artifacts provide glimpses into the lives of past peoples through seemingly mundane objects.

This experience afforded me the freedom to indulge my curiosity, challenging my interpretations of the past and deepening my interest in cultural heritage preservation. Not every day in a museum’s collections yields a significant find or groundbreaking discovery, but my passion lies in safeguarding objects for future generations, interpreting complex histories through visual culture, and connecting with past civilizations through the artifacts they left behind, even if it’s something as humble as a loom weight.