Pictured above: the Mount Holyoke Art Museum on Mount Holyoke’s Campus in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Photo by Lily Reavis ‘21.
By Ansley Keane ’23
Staff Writer
On Friday, Feb. 26, the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum invited residential students back into the space — the space’s first in-person visitors since March 2020. The MHCAM will continue to offer virtual programming, but residential students are now able to make reservations online to visit the museum between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Fridays and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. “I’m so thrilled to have you all back,” Director of the MHCAM Tricia Y. Paik said.
The shift to virtual offerings necessitated by the pandemic created challenges, but also inspired creative problem-solving at the museum.
“Except for a few hiccups, … since we are professionals committed to the visual, we already had a lot of training into how we can transform the visual from in-person to the digital,” Paik said. “Limitations bring creativity. … All of us are creating better material and content because we have to,” she added.
Since the museum’s offerings moved online, there have been opportunities for virtual exhibitions, including exhibitions that showcase students’ work.
“One of the things we started doing was creating virtual exhibitions,” Associate Director for Engagement and Weatherbie Curator of Academic Programs Ellen Alvord ’89 noted. “That’s always amazing, when we can showcase the creativity and the brilliance of the students,” Alvord said.
For A’mara Braynen ’22, a student museum educator and education intern at MHCAM, not being able to physically be in the museum was a challenge. “When we shut down, I had to pivot completely,” Braynen said.
Mimi Perez ’21, a collections intern at MHCAM, was a student receptionist when campus closed in March 2020. Since then, her role at the museum has also pivoted to the collections intern position. “I love, love, love the museum so much. I’m grateful that they’re still involving us in every way possible,” Perez said.
Reopening is an exciting moment for MHCAM staff like Paik and Alvord. Together, they are hoping the museum will again become a resource for students on campus. “I think it’s really important that, with the limited spaces on campus for all of you, you have another space … [where you can] take in culture,” Paik said. “We want [the museum] to be a place for contemplation and beauty,” Alvord added.
In order to safely reopen, MHCAM staff have worked to put social distancing protocols in place while still maintaining a welcoming environment for the community. “Mostly, we just want it to be accessible at times that are good for students. That’s why we went with … Friday afternoons and … Sunday afternoons,” Alvord said.
Braynen and Perez discussed their involvement in the planning of the reopening. “Because [Perez] and I are on campus, we can give good insight into what reopening will look like. One of the first meetings was about timing,” Braynen said. “We talked about colors for a long time, what the graphics would look like,” Braynen added. Inside the museum, the social distancing signs are distinct from those seen elsewhere on campus. The signs declare, “Protect the art and others!” above two painted figures with masks photoshopped on their faces. “Please stay six feet apart” is written below.
“All the residential students have to register on the EMS platform. If you’re not able to register and you want to come, we might have spots available. Students should come and check and see if there is space,” Paik said.
When students visit the museum, they will be offered brochures so they can follow a self-guided tour of the museum. The brochure highlights nine works of art and includes prompts and additional information for each one, providing student visitors with the opportunity to engage with the art in a socially distanced format.
For the time being, the only in-person offerings the museum will have this semester will be the visiting hours, Paik explained. However, virtual events will continue to be offered, and details about those can be found on the museum’s website. “We have a [virtual] artist talk we’re really excited about. We also are going to do our annual queer and trans poetry reading and open mic, … [and] there’s a new group of student guides who will be presenting their thematic tours,” Alvord said.
Both Paik and Alvord emphasized that, although the museum’s offerings look different, the museum and its staff are still available for students. “We just want students to know that we’re here for them,” Alvord noted. “For us, the museum is not a vital space without the students. We need the students in there to make the art [come] alive.”