I was fortunate enough to grow up in a city where art creation and appreciation are every day happenings. Jersey City, New Jersey, just a stone’s throw from Manhattan, has a vibrant arts community that ranges from street art and community craft fairs to highbrow galleries. I always loved attending events around the city, but found that there weren’t any targeted toward my age group outside of school. In 2010, I founded the annual Green Teen Music and Arts Festival which gives teens the opportunity to express their visual and performing arts in a community event whose proceeds go toward planting trees with the Friends of Liberty State Park and American Forests. In the past four years we involved teens from all over the county as contributors and volunteers, and raised over $12,000 for our charities. Through Green Teen I learned how to solicit sponsorships from local businesses and politicians, involve artists and volunteers, advertise, curate, and run an event, while giving back to the community. It was my goal from the beginning that the event remain teen-run, so as I approach my twentieth birthday, I pass on the wonderful and crazy responsibility to another teen so that teens may always have control over the art they want to see and share.

Green Teen sparked my interest and love for art non-profits. As soon as I came to Smith, I saw the Smith College Museum of Art and the Museums Concentration as great resources that I wanted to take advantage of in order to inform both my education and future career. As an Art History and French double major, the concentration seems to go hand in hand with my studies and the practical experiences that the concentration requires would only enrich what I’m learning in the classroom. By working in museums I would like to fine-tune what direction I want to take after graduation, whether it be more curation or art education oriented.

Next year I hope to do a Junior Year Abroad in Paris and intern at a museum in France the following summer for one of my practical experiences. This experience would be invaluable, as it would give me the opportunity to approach museums and similar art non-profit institutions from a completely different cultural perspective. In the meantime I am volunteering at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, which has taught me the importance of appealing to an audience of all ages and creating a welcoming space. I would like to explore ways in which Museums and art non-profits can engage their surrounding communities through education and accessibility. For me, the Museums Concentration is a great opportunity to delve into my love of art from a different point of view, one that would allow me to share that love with others and create an exchange of ideas. 

This past J-term I worked at the Frick Collection during their special exhibition of Dutch masters' works, which gave me a great look into the inner workings of a museum as well as the demands of a special exhibition met with extreme public interest. I look forward to continuing to learn about Museums by working with a variety of them and in a variety of roles.