Students, faculty, and staff will soon have access to a hundred pieces of art as part of the new Art Loan program. The program will allow members of the campus community to borrow artwork to use in offices, residence halls, and workspaces.
While owning an original piece of art has historically been an exclusive privilege, the Art Loan program will give everyone a chance to have a connection with, and to, art.
“Living with art improves your life — we know art can increase self-awareness, open up new understanding, and reduce stress,” says Rebecca Tucker, professor of art, who is facilitating the Art Loan program. “The Art Loan program is built on the idea that everyone should have that opportunity.”
While the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College is an important resource for both CC and the broader Colorado Springs community, CC has its own campus art collection, separate from the FAC, that will be used for the program.
The Art Loan program not only will increase access to the campus collection, but will help CC’s sense of place in the community, as the program will feature and acquire art from local and regional artists. The program will also help to advance the college’s antiracism commitment, as the student managers of the collection will work with local and regional BIPOC artists to feature and buy their art.
The Art Loan program’s role in advancing the college’s antiracism commitment is twofold. Firstly, the program will increase access to art, which historically has been reserved for the privileged, and allow all members of the campus community to have pieces on display in their campus spaces. Secondly, like other institutions’ collections of art, the current collection has a representation problem; students will work to diversify the collection by purchasing art from artists of color, as well as southwestern artists.
One of the rationales behind the Art Loan program is that the campus collection of art is an under-used resource, and many campus members don’t know that it exists, according to the program’s proposal.
Tucker worked with Ava Cunningham ’22, a studio art major, and Drew Getty, a visiting undergrad from Macalester College, on the Art Loan program throughout the summer.
Students will run the program with assistance and resources from faculty and staff. Cunningham and Getty were trained with museum staff earlier this summer to learn how to use the database system, how to inventory the art, and how to properly handle, preserve, and conserve the art.
Students will have the opportunity to train with FAC staff and work with campus experts as part of the work experience. They will hopefully stay with the project throughout their time at CC, says Tucker.
The program was originally designed by Amber Mustafic ’19, in collaboration with Art Department faculty and FAC staff, and Lucas Cowen ’22, a museum studies major, helped get the program ready to launch. Cowen moved, sorted, and categorized artwork.
The new program also will enhance CC’s Museum Studies program, which includes the interdisciplinary thematic minor, as well as a major concentration within the Art Department. Students will be able to participate in hands-on work managing the collection and learning about the acquisition process for art.
The Art Loan program will begin in Block 2 with about 100 pieces available to loan out. Campus community members can contact Rebecca Tucker at rtucker@coloradocollege.edu or (719) 389-6646 for more information or check the CC website starting in Block 2.
Original source can be found here.
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