Your claim to frame.

Colleen McDermott is the Brown Post-Baccalaureate Curatorial Fellow in the Cunningham Center.

It's time for the Student Picks Sweepstakes again! Every year, six Smith students get the chance to curate a one-day show at the Museum, using works from our very own Works on Paper collection. No application necessary--just fill out a ballot and you're good to go.

Who is eligible to apply?

All Smithies are encouraged to apply, regardless of class year or major. (And you can apply as many times as you like!) You don't need any prior art history, museum, or curating experience, since the staff at the Cunningham center will guide you through the entire process.

The sweepstakes goes on until September 25--winners will be contacted around the end of September. Ballot boxes are available in Neilson Library, the Museum lobby and the Campus Center. You can also apply online through a Google form. 

What kinds of art can be used?

Anything from the over 18,000 objects in the Works on Paper Collection! This includes prints, drawings, and photographs from the past 500 years from all over the world. Students are able to bring their own personal interests an experiences to the process, and give life to the collection in really new and exciting ways! In the past year alone, we've had shows on exoticism and colonialism, witches, containment in architecture, collage, sarcasm and visual protest, and water photography.

When and where do shows go up?

Student Picks shows are the first Friday of every month during the academic year. They run from 12-4pm and are located in the Cunningham Center. And be sure to see our first Student Picks show of the year, which is coming up Friday, October 2! It'll be curated by Yu Yan '18, who was chosen during last year's Sweepstakes.

Good luck, and we're so excited to be working with you!