This year, Hewitt was given the prestigious opportunity to work in conjunction with The Metropolitan Museum of Art to create an exhibition called The Feminist Stance. It will feature Hewitt students artwork from grades k-12, and all the pieces will be connected to feminism in some way. Hewitt has always emphasized the importance of feminism, allowing girls to express themselves through the art they create. In preparation for the exhibit, Hewitt has created a curatorial studies class in which a group of upper school students work together to write press releases, create themes, and evaluate artwork.
During the curatorial studies class, students develop and promote the exhibition that they are curating. Posters are being created encouraging the upper, middle, and lower school students to submit their art. The exhibition will feature an incredibly wide range of work from the variety of mediums to the work produced in each grade.
When asked what she believed was most interesting about curatorial studies, Khariyyah F. ‘19 said, “We’re taking an approach to the core meaning of feminism through an artistic lens rather than a political one. I believe this is important because art is open to interpretation, while politics often leads to unhealthy discussion.”
Ms.Wronsky, the head of the art department, shared her thoughts with me about what the most interesting part about curatorial studies class. She said, “It gives a 360 view of what it takes to make an exhibit. You’re looking at lighting, design, the content that will be in the exhibit and I believe that’s really exciting.” She also explained how Hewitt teaches its students that creation is as important as curation.
Source: Max Touhey, Curbed
The exhibit will be presented to the public in the spring of 2017, but the specific gallery is yet to be decided. If you are interested in having your work featured in the exhibit, please submit your artwork to either Mr.Sommer, Mr.Kim, or your advisor by the December 14th submission deadline. Everyone in the curatorial studies class is very excited to create this exhibition and share it with both the Hewitt artists and the public!