student blog

Along with the Stanley's belief in getting students into and engaged with the museum physically, we also believe students should have a space to share their research, creative projects, writing, and other achievements, expertise, and thoughts about art, art history, and the Stanley with their peers. 

The Stanley Student Blog will not only serve as a way to make our events accessible, but also to preserve the work that students do;  their work isn't gone once the event they helped coordinate is over or their employment ends, but lives on here, for future students to engage with days, weeks, months, or maybe even years later. 

If you're interested in contributing to our blog in some type of way, please reach out to Assistant Curator of Student Engagement Allie Tokarski at allison-tokarski@uiowa.edu. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the art on display at the Stanley, the work you're doing related to the Stanley or the arts community on campus, or how the arts are impacting your time here at Iowa. 

two adults standing in front of examples of Kusama's

Night at the Museum: Pizza & Paint

Monday, April 15, 2024
In case you couldn't make it to this months installment of Night at the Museum, we hosted a Pizza & Paint night! We had an art activity led by Amanda Lensing. The inspiration for the activity came from Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama. For this event, we also partnered with Campus Activities Board (CAB)! There was also yummy pizza, fruit, cookies, and drinks!
A screenshot of one of Abbie's 'hey, SMA!' project videos; featuring the hand-drawn 'hey, SMA!' logo on top of a blurred image of the rainbow colored mural in the Stanley lobby.

hey, SMA!

Tuesday, April 9, 2024
hey, SMA! is a video interview series with visiting artists designed to succinctly communicate their work and philosophies to a public audience. This series is Abbie McLaren’s personal project for her 2023-24 academic year as museum programs intern.
women with her mouth open appearing to shut out "edit" she is surrounded by green, orange, purple, and black stripes

Night at the Museum: Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

Monday, April 1, 2024
For the month of March, we hosted a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon to address issues of representation in the arts. Read this blog post to learn all about it--we made a scavenger hunt, pressed buttons, collaborated with Art Hawks and the LGBTQ Iowa Archives & Library, and made a difference for Women's History Month!
A photo of three gallery hosts seated at the Stanley Museum of Art front desk.

Meet the Gallery Hosts 2023-24

Friday, March 22, 2024
During the winter 2023 term, Communications & Marketing Assistant Anaka Sanders did a project focusing on introducing the Gallery Host team to the public. Read this blog post and watch her videos to learn more about the students who greet all of our visitors when they first step into the museum!
cover for the social justice self-guided tour. blue polka dotted background

Social Justice Self-Guided Tour

Tuesday, February 6, 2024
As part of her internship, Campus Engagement Coordinator Alexis Belme created a social justice themed self-guided tour. Due to the museum's gallery rotation schedule, this tour was only available for a short time; check out this blog post to learn more about Alexis's process and see the final result if you weren't able to pick up a copy at the front desk!
two students working at the flower station. Alexis Belme the campus engagement coordinator is one the left and Georgia Corbin a gallery host is one the right

Night at the Museum: Date Night

Tuesday, February 6, 2024
In case you couldn't make it to this months installment of Night at the Museum, we held a date night for Valentine's Day! We had a love-themed scavenger hunt, DIY mini flower bouquets, a little photo booth, and so so many yummy snacks!!
A photo of Alexis, the Stanley's Campus Engagement Coordinator and the student in charge of the HBD event, posing in front of the tables with the cupcakes on them.

2023 Fall Semester Recap

Friday, December 8, 2023
In case you couldn't make it to some of our events this semester or wanted some insight, read more about what we have been up to!
students and community members are shown playing bingo around tables. The game is being led by two local drag queens wearing green

Night at the Museum: Bingo Queens

Friday, November 10, 2023
In case you couldn't make it to our second installment of Night at the Museum, we held a fun bingo game hosted by local drag queens! We played multiple rounds of bingo, had art themed mocktails, and even did a Q&A with the queens, Hazel Sanchez-Belle and Virgo Frost.
A photo of the Art of Voting event, showcasing the info table at the front of the event. At the table sits Campus Engage Coordinator Alexis Belme, who is smiling, prepared to greet event attendees as they walk through the museum's front doors.

Night at the Museum: The Art of Voting

Monday, September 18, 2023
In case you couldn't make it to our first installment of Night at the Museum, we held an event to engage students in registering to vote! We hosted Hawk the Vote to help get students registered, had snacks and drinks, and had a table for voter button making.