Monday, May 6, 2024
Written by
Alexis Belme
Image Gallery

For the past year, I have held the position as the Campus Engagement Coordinator. I assisted with planning six student events, creating a social justice self-guided tour, making a biweekly social media series, and establishing the Stanley Student Challenge to increase student engagement. This role has been so rewarding to see people connect with the museum. I have always loved museums, especially art museums, so I wanted to create events and activities that would welcome more students into the space.  

 

Looking back at the past year, I am proud of the work I have accomplished. In terms of events, we put together six great events that had amazing turnouts. Some of my favorite memories have been making art inspired mocktails for the drag bingo event and helping to create mini bouquets for our Valentines event.

shown is Alexis Belme, the campus engagement coordinator wrapping ribbon around a bouquet

 

I have loved seeing students come in with their Stanley Student Challenge punch cards to receive their free customized Stanley Baggu tote bag! The process of designing the bags was also so fun but a little challenging too. 

A photo featuring the Stanley Student Challenge Baggu bag prize. A white bag with green design on it, featuring the slogan "art is for everyone" and drawings of various works of art from the Stanley Museum of Art.

 

 

As I was creating my social justice self-guided tour, I did not realize how rewarding it would be to see guests pick up the guide on their way up to the galleries. I had been working on the self-guided tour for a while, so I was happy when it was printed and ready for the public. In case you were not able to grab it in person, I did a blogpost describing the tour and attached a digital version! You can find that here.  

 

The social media series I started, Friday Focus with Alexis, has been a fun weekly project to work on. Previously, I did not have too much experience with creating social media videos. However, I was able to learn a lot along the way. I made videos on Alexander Apóstol, Marsden Hartley, Fritz Scholder, Frances Pino Torivio, Keith Haring, Gordon Matta-Clark, Sam Gilliam, Elizabeth Catlett, Lil Picard, Judy Moonelis, Samia Halaby, and Nnenna Okore! Those videos are over on our social media channels if you are interested and want to learn more about some artists and pieces in our collection!  

 

Aside from my internship at the museum, I have also had the opportunity to incorporate the Stanley Museum of Art into my senior capstone. As a Social Justice major, we complete a capstone project in the final year of our undergrad. For my research project, I looked at the value of women in art museums both at a national level and locally. By incorporating the Stanley and its collection into my research I was able to look at the impacts of smaller university museums and the diversity of their collections. Furthermore, I was given the opportunity to create a small exhibition on the third floor that showcases artwork from women in the collection.  

 

Overall, this internship allowed me the opportunity to broaden my understanding of museums and potential career avenues I could take. As I begin looking for jobs after graduation, I have obtained a lot of qualifications and experience through this role. Moreso, I have gained so much knowledge on the bridging of social justice and museum studies.  

 

Gallery
One student takes a Polaroid picture of two other students, posing excitedly, their arms raised, in front of the Stanley's rainbow-colored lobby mural.
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.
A photo of the event in action. Students mingle around, eating cupcakes, reading the zines, and chatting. Jack and Anaka, two gallery hosts, sit at the event's welcome desk.
A photo of the HBD, SMA event information desk. On it are various paper goods--the zine specifically made for the event, and the Stanley Student Challenge stamp card.
A photo of two Polaroid pictures, taken at HBD SMA on a black tablecloth.
A photo of the HBD, SMA zine, held up against the colorful mural in the Stanley Museum of Art lobby.
A photo of the Stanley Student Challenge card, held up against the Stanley's lobby mural.
A close up photo of the table of snacks and drinks at the Art of Voting event, featuring colorful single serve bags of chips and sparkling water.
A photo of the event showing a table of snacks, including various bags of chips and sparkling water, with students in the background sitting at tables.
A photo showing the setup of the Art of Voting event--the projector at the far end of the lobby has a looping PowerPoint with images of art and archival photos; there are two tables for button making; and Hawk the Vote has a table to register people to vote.
A photo of four students posing together in front of the mural in the Stanley lobby--three students are members of Hawk the Vote, and one is the Stanley's Campus Engagement Coordinator, Alexis.
A photo of one of the button making tables at the Art of Voting event
Students try their hand at a button press machine, making buttons themed to the "Art of Voting" event.
students and community members are shown playing bingo around tables. The game is being led by two local drag queens wearing green
round cocktail table with an assortment of prizes. These include a candle making kit, coloring book with pencils, popcorn kit, and a hot chocolate kit with a mug
employee, Anaka, working at the information desk. the desk has scattered bingo cards and Stanley Student Challenge Cards
close up image of a hand pouring a canned ginger ale into a clear plastic cup
shown is a student standing in between two drag queens against the lobby mural
hand holding the bingo card used at the event. the middle tile shows a picture of spirit dance
shown are 5 individuals. On the left is Virgo Frost, then Abbie McLaren, Anaka Sanders, Alexis Belme, and Hazel Sanchez-Belle
on a marble table are empty plastic cups, chip bags, Jolly Ranchers, and Bingo Cards with assorted numbers
shown is a flower bouquet on a black table. The bouquet is comprised of a yellow rose, a pink snapdragon, and smaller yellow flowers
shown is Alexis Belme, the campus engagement coordinator wrapping ribbon around a bouquet
shown are students standing at cocktail tables. some students are also in line to make their own bouquets
tray with chocolate covered strawberries
very colorful arrangement of flowers. There is a yellow rose, pink snapdragon, and smaller yellow flowers. In the background are vases with other colors of roses and snapdragons
shown is student employee Melanie Landsittel standing in the flower arch. she holds a flower bouquet in her hands
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
Valentines day scavenger hunt placed on a red background with various colors of pink ribbons around it
women with her mouth open appearing to shut out "edit" she is surrounded by green, orange, purple, and black stripes
scavenger hunt with blue and yellow details, surrounding the pamphlet are six buttons with different phrases.
button press surrounded by different designs of buttons
two students standing in front of the mural showing their finished products
two adults standing in front of examples of Kusama's
two students standing in front of the lobby mural holding their finished products
Amanda helping students with their projects
The design for the 2024 Stanley Student Challenge Baggu Design. It features a slogan that says "Art is for everyone," and line drawings of various works of art that have been on display at the Stanley throughout the year.