Written by Arts Management Intern Diana Kate Karsanow
Faith Walker is one of the students from the Art History Capstone course from this past fall which was responsible for the curation of the current exhibit: Desire, Conflict & Exchange Art of 19th Century East Asia & the West. Walker is a junior from Dayton, Ohio. She is a double major in Anthropology and Art and Architecture History with minors in Archaeology and Museums and Society. On campus, Walker is the president of the Art and Architecture History Association, the secretary of the Anthropology club, and a stitcher for the theater costume shop.
During the semester long capstone course, all students worked collaboratively to select an overall theme, sub-themes, and a wide variety of pieces to be featured. Later on, each student chose an individual piece to highlight and explore more in-depth, researching its history and background and then compiling that information in a catalogue entry.
Walker chose the Chinese Dragon Teapot made by the Irish Belleek Pottery Company. She was drawn to this artwork because of its unique appearance. The relationship between Ireland and East Asia during the 19th century is not commonly taught so Walker was excited to explore this cultural exchange.
The Capstone course provided Walker a great opportunity to learn more about museum curation, global trade, and orientalism as well as the complexities of teamwork and large group collaboration. Therefore, she would recommend ART498 to any student interested in museum curation.
Learn more about Faith’s piece along with the rest of the exhibition, Desire, Conflict & Exchange, at the exhibition website: https://sites.miamioh.edu/muam-capsp20/
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