June 28, 2018 | UHCL Staff
Since 2014, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston has offered the Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship Program and Summer Academy, which aims to train a diverse group of undergraduate students who aspire to become museum curators. University of Houston-Clear Lake Assistant Professor of Art History Sarah Costello knew just the right candidate for the job.
“I knew LaPortia Hall would be a great fit for the program because as a student in my courses and (Assistant Professor of Art History) Beth Merfish’s courses, she expressed a strong desire for a career in art history,” Costello said. “The Mellon Summer Academy and fellowship at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston knows that to achieve their mission of bringing art to the public eye, museums must represent and speak for all the diverse voices of that public.”
Hall, who is working toward her bachelor of arts in humanities with minors in global studies and women’s studies, said that Costello had told her about the Mellon Academy program last fall. She said Costello and Merfish helped her complete the application, which included an essay.
“I wrote about why I wanted to work in a museum and my passion for art,” Hall said. “I wanted to get my foot in the door and learn the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of how things are in a museum. I sometimes felt that based on my racial background and gender, I would face some obstacles as I got further into my career.”
Hall said that she knew that by working hard and staying determined, she would achieve her objective. “I knew applying for the Mellon Summer Academy Program was one way I could move toward my goal,” she said. “The Mellon Summer Academy Program was established to help people of diverse cultural background to get one step closer to their dreams. It has done that for me. It’s a career goal for sure. This was my first professional museum experience. I loved it.”
Costello said that Hall had worked very hard on her essay, meeting numerous times with her and Merfish to ensure her application was the best it could be. “She explained to me that no one in her family works in museums, art, or academia, so without mentoring at home, she really needed the extra guidance,” Costello said. “She’s always expressed a strong desire for a career in art history and truly has a passion for learning.”
MFAH University Programs Specialist Kelley Magill said that the goal of the weeklong intensive summer institute is to clarify the dynamic and collaborative role that curators play in a museum setting. “LaPortia was one of 15 students selected through a competitive process. She was a great contributor to the group,” Magill said.
“Throughout the week-long workshop, students spoke with numerous MFAH curators to learn about collection development and exhibitions, and they met with staff from different departments to learn about how they collaborate with curators on various activities such as exhibition design, fundraising, art installation,, and engaging community partnerships,” Magill said.
“They took tours of the MFAH collections led by curators and discussed curatorial practices and their applications in the decisions made in the exhibitions,” Magill continued. She added that following this intensive program, students would have the opportunity to apply for the Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship, a two-year program providing hands-on experience working with curatorial mentors and staff at the MFAH.
The week culminated in a final exhibition project, Magill said. Students were able to demonstrate their understanding of the curator’s role in conceptualizing exhibitions from permanent collections.
Hall’s final project, “Divine Crossroads,” reflected her interest in sacred arts, exploring different faith-based art traditions and ritual objects.
“I’ve always been an artist and I’ve always felt connected to museums,” Hall said. “I fell in love with art history courses in college. I understood about the art and the story behind it, but I didn’t get the museum part of it till I did this program. This is the first chance I’ve had to learn what goes into curating, and it’s mind-blowing.”
Now that she’s completed the training, Hall said she sees things differently. “This training helped me understand how to set up an exhibit,” she said. “I learned to consider wall color, and how to set a dialogue between each object, and how it all comes together to tell a story. I also learned about the many different departments that come together to help to set up an exhibition. I learned so much and I took so many notes.”
Hall, who learned while she was filling out the application last fall that she was expecting twins, said that she’d had the best experience in the world. “I wish I could relive that whole week,” she said. She plans to take the fall semester off to give birth, then return in the spring to complete her degree in fall 2019.
“My goal is to be a curator in a museum, and ultimately to become an art history professor. I knew that if I wanted to get farther in life, I had to find mentors to help me,” she continued. “Dr. Costello and Dr. Merfish have been great mentors, and (Associate Professor of Humanities) Shreerekha Subramanian got me interested in women’s studies. It’s amazing that I found them, and when I become a professor, I will do the same for my students.”
For more information about UHCL’s Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, visit www.uhcl.edu/academics/degrees/humanities-ba.
