Beatrix Bagin, class of 2027

Overview:

This summer, I was fortunate enough to work with John Murphy, Curator of Drawing and Prints, and Ian Shelley, Curatorial/Learning and Engagement Fellow at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center to curate a small exhibition in the Spotlight Gallery. My research and exhibition organized this summer relates to the larger reinstallation project for our Founding Galleries, acting as a test-run for how a small array of Poughkeepsie-based artworks may be implemented in the eventual permanent display. My show, titled Common Ground: Art and Infrastructure in Poughkeepsie, invites visitors of the Loeb to think about how our daily lives are shaped by the built environment in Poughkeepsie. In choosing pieces from the FLLAC collection, as well as prints and songs by local artists and musicians, I hope Poughkeepsie new-comers and lifelong residents alike can contemplate how the infrastructure that we collectively use contributes to a sense of community and identity here.

Research and Curatorial Process: 

First, I searched the Loeb Collection for pieces focused on Poughkeepsie, and found a majority of the collection was related to Matthew Vassar or Vassar College campus itself. There were a minority of pieces depicting the city itself, people who live here, or that were created by local Poughkeepsie artists, which was helpful to narrow potential themes for the exhibition, but also for the museum to know that this area is a significant gap in the collection. I came across Andre Kertesz’s photograph of the Poughkeepsie train station from 1939, which depicts the steep staircase leading down to the platform. I was struck by the impression that everyone who has used this station since it was built in the early 1900s had the shared experience of navigating that steep staircase down to the tracks. Once I settled on the theme of infrastructure and collective experience, I found more pieces in the collection showing the Mid-Hudson Bridge, College Hill Park, the railroad, and other Poughkeepsie ‘landmarks’ that were attuned to ideas of the built environment, local history and civic identity. 

I had a lot of fun researching the pieces, which took me all over Dutchess County! Vassar Special Collections, The FDR Archive in Hyde Park, object files at the Loeb, conversations with artists Caleb Stein and Emilie Houssart, research presentations at Scenic Hudson’s Northside Hub and countless books at the Vassar library were all integral to understanding the pieces I was incorporating into the show. After researching the works and understanding how each piece fit into the broader theme of the exhibition, I wrote introduction panels, individual object texts, and an accompanying zine. By working on this project, I was truly exposed to all elements of exhibition planning and execution, including crafting checklists, researching objects, building relationships with artists, writing didactic materials, and conceiving design elements.

Acknowledgements:

I am immensely grateful to John and Ian for being so supportive this summer and cheering me along every step of the way. I feel very fortunate to have had the help of Amanda, Jess and Mary-Kay, Kayla, Luca and Katherine to organize technical processes, point me in the right direction, connect me with artists, and offer an encouraging word this summer. 

Although I am not a Poughkeepsie resident, I have truly grown to love this city and its community during my time at Vassar, learning academically as an Urban Studies major and personally working with local organizations through the Community Engaged Learning program. This project has helped me understand that Poughkeepsie has very complex challenges that it has faced and continues to struggle with, but that there are so many people and groups working together to help in various ways. I hope this project encourages visitors of the Loeb to think about how individuals shape their communities and have the power to contribute positively to the places they know and care about, whether that be Poughkeepsie or elsewhere.