What career paths can art history students pursue within the art world?
Last week, students in the new course, MUCH 238: Arts in the Professional World led by instructor Franziska Regier, visited the Menil Drawing Institute to converse with Michelle White, Senior Curator at the Menil Collection and Jessica Phifer, Senior Director at Murphy & Partners. White and Phifer shared valuable insights into careers in museums, auction houses, and art consulting, emphasizing the importance of establishing a supportive professional network.
Arts in the Professional World is a course that explores ideas of value within the art world. The discussion with White and Phifer illuminated the processes that assign value to artworks and how such value is translated within the art market. Questions surrounding legal negotiations, auction house sales, and curatorial choices expanded students' understanding of the art world at large.
Before speaking with White and Phifer, students spent time in the Rothko Chapel, a meditative space commissioned by John and Dominique de Menil and designed by architect Philip Johnson. Students also had the opportunity to engage with Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk, which stands above the reflecting pool outside the Chapel.
Those interested in pursuing a minor in Museums and Cultural Heritage Studies (MUCH) can visit [much.rice.edu] or direct questions to the MUCH co-directors Dr. Leo Costello (lcostell@rice.edu)and Dr. Molly Morgan (mm92@rice.edu).
Images: Sage Lee, Will Marsden
