New applied museum studies program offered at Irvine Valley College
Irvine Valley College is proud to present the Applied Museum Studies Program produced by museum studies/art history Instructor, Amy Grimm.
“I built this program from the ground, from scratch,” Grimm said. “It’s not just out of my head. I’ve worked in museums as a curator.”
What does this program mean? Any students who might be curious in the arts or in collections might find it appropriate. Nine different courses will be offered as of spring.
These classes offer a build up for your resume and are fully certified giving the student an entry to networking and hands-on experience that can benefit their career. Applied museum studies is fully accredited and they are CSU transferable for credit. UCI has a curatorial program and Cal State Fullerton has a museum studies program. Both of these are graduate programs giving undergraduates the opportunity to be certified and more experienced in the networking aspect of their career choice.
“It is a big deal to find an existing undergrad certification programs the students who are in this program have a better chance when they finish their B.A. to get in to graduate programs at this time, and there really is virtually no existing undergrad programs,” Grimm said.
Irvine Valley College is one of the few in the country to have this program, giving Saddleback College students an opportunity as sister school to take full advantage of these opportunities. Saddleback does provide an Art Gallery Exhibition course, but it is not for certification.
Lydia Buenrostro, a 25-year-old art major, is interested in curating, yet she has not branched out to the full capabilities that her major carries. She is interested in curating and working in gallery’s as well as museums.
“Our Saddleback Art Program is pretty big, a certification program for undergraduates would be the cherry on top to the entire Arts division at this college,” Buenrostro said.
Orange County Curator Challenge (OC3) is a collaborative exhibition intended to provide support for emerging and established curators, reinforce interest in curatorial practices, and encourage new projects in the field of contemporary art gave the opportunity to 14 different curators to address the issues related to sun soil and city theme of 2013. Grimm took her students for a “greet and meet” with former curators, as well as being a participant of the curating challenge.
“It is heavy on the projects, very hands on, we are getting really good experience for the students. In fact, internships are being offered right now and some students already have the chance to work with me,” Grimm said.
With spring semester around the corner earn a certificate and start networking in the job world, with your passion or hobby you can come from any sort of major.
For more information visit: http://www.ivc.edu/careered/certificates/Pages/arthistory.aspx