Beyond the "Like": Collecting and Contemporary Art

The List Visual Arts Center invites you to participate in a series of workshops that go behind the scenes to illuminate how and why museums collect contemporary art, culminating in a trip to purchase art from area galleries for the List’s collection.

These workshops, led by List staff and art experts from MIT and beyond, provide a multi-perspectival framework to engage with issues in collecting, connoisseurship, and institutional practices and policies, including: the histories of art collecting, concepts of prints and photographs, the art market, curatorial work, contemporary art and artists, and museum decision-making. The final session is a trip to local galleries with List staff: participants will view artwork and be tasked with selecting pieces to accession into the List’s Student Loan Art Program collection. Join in learn about museum work, the art world, and make an impact on artworks that will be borrowed by MIT students for years to come. 

Workshop Schedule

January 13, 2 to 4 PM

Collecting in Context
Session Leaders: Jesse Noah Feiman (PhD candidate, History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art), Alise Upitis (Assistant Curator, List)

January 15, 2 to 4 PM

The Art Market and Its Discontents
Session Leaders: Maryanna McConnell (Private Wealth Adviser, Morgan Stanley), Monica Steinberg (Curatorial Fellow, List)

January 20, 2 to 4 PM

Curatorial Work and Contemporary Artists
Session Leaders: Henriette Huldisch (Curator, List), Courtney Klemens (Campus and Community Outreach Coordinator, List)

January 22, time TBD

Gallery Trip
Session Leaders: List staff