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. 

A student sits at a table, cutting out circular pieces of paper to use with the button maker.

Night at the Museum: The Art of Voting 4.0

Tuesday, September 22, 2026
For this year's first Night at the Museum, we revisited our collab with Hawk the Vote and hosted the fourth iteration of "The Art of Voting." Similar to years past, we used our student event this month to encourage students to register to vote with Hawk The Vote, while also giving them the opportunity to create and learn about political artworks. Click here to learn more about how this event went!
Entrance wall for the Stanley Museum's Dis/Comfort exhibition, with the title in large black letters split by a red slash, bilingual introductory text on an orange background, a Makonde mask displayed in a wall case, and a visitor walking past.

Student Reflections on Curating Dis/Comfort

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Three University of Iowa students who helped curate "Dis/Comfort: Confronting Histories of African Art in the United States," on view at the Stanley Museum of Art through Spring 2027, describe what it took to build a museum exhibition from the ground up. Working with curator Cory Gundlach in the course "Curating African Art in America," the twelve students chose to call every work on view a "belonging" rather than an "object," conducted provenance research, and wrote every label.
Alicia poses, pictured from the waist up, on an outdoor terrace with a campus building and greenery behind her; she is smiling, wearing a white t-shirt under a denim tie-front vest.

Communications and Marketing Assistant 2026/2027: Alicia Maiz Alonso

Thursday, September 3, 2026
Click here to learn more about Alicia Maiz Alonso and the work she will do as the Communications and Marketing Assistant at the Stanley Museum of Art during Academic Year 2026/ 27.
Malenna poses, pictured from the waist up, in front of a red painting; she is smiling and wearing glasses.

Campus Engagement Coordinator 2026/2027: Malenna Dominguez

Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Click here to learn more about Malenna Dominguez and the work she will do as the Campus Engagement Coordinator at the Stanley Museum of Art during Academic Year 2026/ 27.
Jonah poses, smiling, hands in his pockets, in front of Yayoi Kusama's painting, "Red No. 28."

Learning & Engagement Intern 2026/2027: Jonah McMahan

Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Click here to learn more about Jonah McMahan and the work he will do as Learning & Engagement Intern at the Stanley Museum of Art during Academic Year 2026/27.
Shaun and Amelia hug each other, posing in front of the Jiha Moon mural in the museum lobby

Reflections from our Graduating Gallery Hosts, Spring 2026

Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Spring 2026 marks the graduation of three of our gallery hosts--Lauren, Amelia, and Shaun. Read this post to hear a bit more about these students, their experiences at the Stanley, and where they're headed next.
Two students sit at a table with a blue and white checkered table cloth and smile at the camera.

Night at the Museum: Craft-er Hours

Friday, April 17, 2026
For our final Night at the Museum for the Spring 2026 semester, we hosted a cozy, low-stress after-hours craft session. Click here to learn more about how this event went!
Example story boxes, featuring collaged and drawn on imagery and patterns.

Night at the Museum: Chill & Create

Wednesday, March 18, 2026
For our March Night at the Museum, we worked with local artist, art therapist, and mental health counselor Dana Keeton to bring you a special session of Chill & Create--a drop-in workshop focused on destressing around midterms by making and viewing art. This session focused on "story boxes."
Students sit at the marble tables in the lobby and craft

Night at the Museum: Date Night

Monday, February 16, 2026
For our February Night at the Museum, we hosted a Valentine's Day -themed date night! Students were welcomed to visit with their valentines (or pal-entines) and enjoy mocktails and desserts, a valentine-crafting station, a Polaroid photo booth, and live harp music! Click here to learn more about how this event went!