UT students organize exhibition at the Toledo Museum of Art
“An Inspired Age: Selections of 18th-century European Art from the Collection” is currently on display in the Toledo Museum of Art’s Gallery 18.
“An Inspired Age” is organized by the students from The University of Toledo Department of Art art museum practices exhibition course, under the direction of UT Associate Professor of Art History Thor J. Mednick and Lawrence W. Nichols, the Museum’s William Hutton Senior Curator, European and American Painting and Sculpture before 1900.
The temporary exhibition, running through Jan. 5, 2020, features 13 paintings and three sculptures.
The exhibition course, which is the last of three courses in the art museum practices curriculum, offers students the opportunity to work with a TMA curator to develop an exhibition using works of art from the Museum’s permanent collection. The purpose is to give students a hands-on understanding of the workings of a fine arts museum and to prepare them for a career in this field.
“The Toledo Museum of Art has a vast collection and this allows visitors to see some of the art that has been off view while providing students real-life experience in many aspects of curating an exhibition,” Nichols said. “It has been rewarding to see the next generation of Museum professionals use their education to develop this exhibition.”
The opportunity has been invaluable for the students, Mednick explained.
“Working with a world-class, private museum is a rare opportunity in museum studies courses,” Mednick said. “And to have the thoughtful and generous help of a senior curator is extraordinary.”
“An Inspired Age: Selections of 18th-century European Art from the Collection” is sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council with additional support from 2019 Exhibition Program Sponsor ProMedica.