Museum Studies class: Hands-on exhibition and career experience

Last fall’s Museum Studies class at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) has solidified a career choice for at least one of the 16 students who took it. The class was on the go all semester, visiting museums throughout Milwaukee, meeting with professionals and thinking critically about the role of museums in our society.

And for their final project, students curated and presented a hypothetical exhibition for the Haggerty Museum of Art’s space.

Critical Studies Museum Studies Class, 2025

“After this class I have decided to pursue a career in the museum field,” says Leonardo Rivas Jimenéz ’26 (Illustration; Art History and Sciences minors). “I intend to get a master’s in art history (hopefully abroad)…. Ideally, I would love to work in curation, but I would be content with any position inside of a museum.”

Quincy Gibson ’26 (Fine Art + New Studio Practice) says the class’s “biggest takeaways were growing awareness of community representation and being able to have real conversations with the people who run these institutions.”

“I think community representation, uplift and outreach is critical, especially for public art institutions or entities. For the most part the places we visited were community friendly, inclusive and they wanted to have important conversations; on the other hand, there were places that were very much the opposite.”

Curating the hypothetical exhibition proved a valuable experience for all the students.

“My biggest takeaway … is the amount of research involved,” says James St. Surin ’27 (Product Design). “Every exhibit has a narrative it wants the audience to walk in and out with, and it’s a more difficult task than you think. It’s very easy to overdo and undersell your idea with any one piece. The class also gave me a new appreciation of spaces, and it’s a new thing for me to look out for when I’m entering a museum.”

“I absolutely adored making an interactive exhibition that connects and honors humanity and the love that we share,” Rivas Jimenéz says. “The exhibition I helped put together was called ‘Love In Perspective’ and … would honor different kinds of love, and love that persists through time, space and culture. My favorite part was … the interactive aspect of it – I designed a space where people could leave notes to respond to prompts, encouraging visitors to ‘leave their handprints.’”

“The Chipstone Foundation was especially impactful for me because of their support outside of the classroom,” says Gibson. “I recently contacted Executive Director and Chief Curator Jon Prown and asked if he had any interest in doing a knife-making workshop with me. A few days later I got a response and from there we … made it happen!”

“My practice as a sculptor already deals with metal work so this was a great way of engaging my skills and learning new things along the way. After the workshop Jon … offered another opportunity to workshop in the future. The genuine support of Jon and The Chipstone Foundation has been nothing short of impactful and I’m looking forward to working with them again.”

“The Museum Studies elective course introduces students to art professionals such as curators, educators, directors, preparators and designers,” notes Professor Chelsea Holton. “There are careers within these exhibition spaces that students are not previously aware of…. The class is a wonderful way to encourage students in their beginning efforts at networking – something that is essential in the professional world.”

Learn more about MIAD’s Critical Studies program, through which Museum Studies is offered.