This coming summer, I have been offered the position of the Marketing and Outreach Intern for Enjoy the Arts, based out of the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal (as pictured here). Enjoy the Arts is a non-profit organization that connects people aged 35 and younger with free passes to art- and culture-fueled entertainment. In this role, I will work to strategically market and grow the brand through social media and marketing development, cultivation of arts partnerships, and coordination of outreach events. In this position, I will not only be immersed in multi-cultural events and put into contact with a variety of arts organization leaders, but additionally will be able to apply my strategic communications major in a real-world context. This experience is highly significant to me, as it represents not only a chance to advance in my chosen field, but additionally the opportunity to interact with an arts community I have cared deeply about for my entire life. In applying for the position, I additionally gained a great deal of experience in the job application process, and built a resume which will be highly useful to me in apply for careers and graduate school after my time at Ohio State has concluded.

This artifact represents my experience training as a docent at the Wexner Center for the Arts over the past year. In entering this training program, I have been able to not only reconcile my extracurricular pursuits with my career goals (of working in arts administration), but pushed in both my cultural and communicative skills. This program has allowed me to explore my passion for contemporary art while additionally exposing me to global visual culture – from the multitude of foreign artists displayed in After Picasso, to the distinct artistic language of Noah Purifoy, whose art is indebted to his perception of African-American history. Throughout my training, I have gained skills in group communication, soothing cultural tensions (which are often raised via controversial artworks), and working within a past-paced, constantly changing environment. Especially surprising to me was the constantly evolving nature of the Wex – a museum with no permanent collection, and instead a revolving door of artistic offerings. I believe that these abilities will serve me well in pursuing museum administration, helping me to communicate well within group, tailor my messages to a demographic context, and furthering my passion for the art world.

One achievement of the past semester I am particularly proud of is my completion of an extensive research paper on Edouard Manet’s Women at the Races. In drafting this essay, I was pushed to delve into the mind of a 19th century flâneur, assuming the cultural perspective of intellectuals of both another language and another time. This paper was significant to me for both its depth and scope, as it challenged me to not only complete extensive research, but additionally take on a cultural perspective quite disparate from my own. One particularly surprising aspect of this paper for me was my discovery of the progressive nature of many of Manet’s works from a gendered perspective. Despite the vast inequity and sexism of France in the 1800s, in this work elevates its subjects from objects of masculine visual consumption – as typified in the male gaze perpetrated in most works of the era – to active participants in society. This upset both my cultural and historical assumptions, challenging me as both a writer and a researcher.

Read My Paper Here: Women at the Races

One of the most meaningful experiences of my time at Ohio State has been my membership in the Alpha Omicron Chapter of Alpha Chi Omega. As a sister of Alpha Chi, I have been surrounded by the past year with a group of challenging, supportive, and diverse college women who have pushed me to be my best, both personally and academically. My sisters provide me with constant encouragement, and inspire me on a daily basis. I have been provided with many different extracurricular outlets, from leadership (I serve as the Chi Connections chair, working to foster relations between new and active members) to philanthropy (where I have helped with our efforts to raise awareness for victims of Domestic Violence). Alpha Chi has pushed me to rethink my own stereotypes of what a sorority woman is, and can be. Members of my chapter are published researchers, campus leaders, community activists, and global citizens. In my sisterhood, I have found a community of women who are there with me whenever I call – whether it is to cram out a late night cram session at our chapter’s study hours, talk politics, network with post-grad, or just devour some Chipotle. Above all, they propel me everyday to be a “Real, Strong, Woman.”

One of the most meaningful academic experiences I have undergone in the past year was my completion of my History of Art compositional seminar thesis. This paper – the culmination of a semester’s worth of research, editing, advising, and sleepless nights – is an exploration of the Indian artist M.F. Husain’s controversial 2006 painting Bharat Mata, or Mother India. This paper not only allowed me to explore in-depth contemporary Indian art (a genre underrepresented in both American classrooms and museums) but provided me with the opportunity to connect my 2015 travels in Northern India with my History of Art major. In writing my paper, I was able to connect Husain’s work with the Bharat Mata Mandir we explored while abroad, establishing the painting as a call for nationalistic unification, not a divisive and derogatory representation of a Hindu goddess by a Muslim artist.

This essay forced me out of my research comfort zone, encouraging me to explore resources far beyond the scope I would exploit for a normal Ohio State assignment, and additionally necessitated the utilization of translators. It additionally awoke in me a deep passion for Husain’s art, which connected my affection for Indian visual culture I accumulated while traveling abroad with my adoration of contemporary art. Due to this paper, I believe I have landed upon the topic I wish to further explore in drafting my senior thesis. I additionally believe that I will pursue contemporary Indian art as my graduate focus – a path which would tie my interest in global culture into my love of art history.

Read My Paper Here: Bharat Mata