ASU Art Museum - Week Four

Hi y'all,

The last week of my internship at the Arizona State University Art Museum was a slow one, but it left me feeling. I spent much of the week simply gathering up all the digital documents I had been putting research on for pieces of art that were going to be hung up and the artists that made them.

Throughout my time at the museum, one of the exhibits entitled "Talking to Action - Art, Pedagogy, and Activism in the Americas" has been up. It was by far my favorite exhibit in the museum, describing the plight of Latinx populations throughout Central and Southern America, from labor protests in Mexico City, Mexico to police brutality in Sao Paulo, Brazil, I learned much about the history of Latinx activism.

In a fitting way, my last week also happened to be the week that the exhibit ended and was scheduled to be packed up in preparation for shipping to the next location on its display tour.

Area where a piece about the gentrification of
Latinx communities in Los Angeles once was.

Looking back on my four weeks at the museum, I greatly appreciate this experience, as it has provided me with more enriched knowledge about the issues that many pieces of Latinx art encompass. While excited to be getting a week or so of free time before starting college, I had just begun growing closer to my fellow museum staff and more exciting events were beginning the planning process. Prior to this internship, I never saw myself as someone who could appreciate art work or enjoy working in a museum, but I now recognize the immense value these institutions hold in our community. 

Thank you for this opportunity,
Brian Mecinas

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 4: History Colorado Center

The last week of my internship was also one of the bests (and I apologize for the lack of pictures again, I'm honestly really bad at remembering to take them). As the last four weeks came to a close, I spent my time putting the finishing touches to any work I was doing. Whether that was meeting about the after school program or getting a few more sketch ideas in for the illustration book, I didn't want to leave anything undone or untouched by the time I was finished.  But, I didn't just work. That isn't to say that I sat around and didn't do anything, either. The last four week, however, was spent hanging out with my supervisor and a few others. On Wednesday, they took me out to lunch at an amazing phở spot on Capitol Hill. The lunch was spent having great conversations and some realizations too. Although I learned a lot  about people in Colorado and the roads that they mapped out, I also learned how it felt to be valued and appreciated for my ideas and c...
Read more

SAMA - the last week

July 29 - August 5th On Tuesday, I was also able to take a mental break from computers and art and had a refreshing storytime at the San Antonio Public Library - Las Palmas branch. Even though our participation level was low (two kids and a grandmother), I still had an incredibly fun time with them. After Criztian and I read the story and did the drumming activity, the kids wanted to show us the songs and dances they learned from the librarian, including If you’re happy and you know it, Frogs on a Log, and Shake the Sillies Out. Seeing how well the children interacted with music and dancing was such a great experience, which fit perfectly with the theme of Tito Puente and his music during storytime. Seeing how well they interacted with the music and the stimulation to their young brains was so inspiring.  On Monday the 5th, the other intern and I paired up for the gardens presentation. In case you aren’t up to date here’s a recap of last week: I had an idea to expand the...
Read more

Giovanna Ferreira - WEEK 3 at S.C.C.

Image
Third week of interning at Smithsonian Institution Building has been an adventure. Since we had meetings every single day at every single hour plus doing translations and working on the website for about two weeks, my supervisor decided to give me a little break and sent me to different Smithsonian museums (and the zoo). National Museum of African American History and Culture Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Smithsonian National Museum of American History One of my favorites was the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport, VA. The location is, in my opinion, the coolest, because while you are going around exhibitions you can also observe real planes flying over the museum.  Lockheed SR-71A “Blackbird” was by far my favorite of the whole center. It was a spy plane operated by the United States Air Force and it set a speed record by flying from L...
Read more