Student Curation at SMFA
At SMFA, there are student-run exhibitions happening all the time, and a lot of that activity is made possible with student government support. They help connect students with exhibition opportunities through partnerships and funding, and there are even exhibition reps whose whole role is to help students put shows together.
This support makes a big difference, students putting on shows and curating ends up being very accessible, and people actually have the help and guidance to bring their ideas to life.
This semester, there have already been two shows at Medford Arts Collaborative, organized through our SMFA student government: Recession Indicators and defunded/defunked!, both curated by students. They brought together a wide range of artists from SMFA and the Boston area, and it was cool to see how different people approached themes like economics, material reality, and humor in art.
There have also been exhibitions on campus, like Temperaments in the SMFA atrium, which focused on different approaches to the body and body politics. It was gorgeous, and was a really lovely collection by current students and alumni. It’s nice seeing work like this outside of the classroom, where people can engage with it more casually.
Squares // Rectangles was a juried exhibition that my friends and I put together. We showed work from over 30 SMFA undergrads and focused on craft, process, and materiality—things that don’t always get as much attention in fine art spaces. We also had a craft-themed drag performance at the opening, thanks to a collaboration with a lovely, talented artist who was a part of the cohort at the space that hosted our show. I hope it feels more like a community event than just a gallery show.
Overall, what stands out is how collaborative everything feels with all of these shows. People are not just making new works at SMFA, they’re curating, organizing, installing, and supporting each other. With funding from the school and help from the student government, it’s actually possible to turn ideas into real exhibitions, and that’s been really exciting to be part of.