"I enjoy working at the Weatherspoon because I have the opportunity to witness the connection of students and the community to art. I am excited to see the transformation of exhibits throughout the year and expand my awareness of artists."

ROBIN BILODEAU
Major: Recreation and Parks Management, concentration: Therapeutic Recreation


"I work as a visitor service assistant at the Weatherspoon, where I welcome guests and provide gallery information. I enjoy working here because I get to be around a bunch
of great art and am able to meet so many interesting people."

JUSTIN SANFORD
UNCG, Studio Arts

"My job interning for the museum’s registrar focuses on documenting artworks, both current and incoming acquisitions. I enjoy the calm nature and environment that the museum
has offered me. Additionally, the staff has been nothing short of great!"

JASMIN ZAMORA-CUNA 
Major: MA in History, concentration: Museum Studies

Ann Grimaldi, curator of academic programming and head of education, was chosen to participate in the first cohort of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s Interaction Lab workshop for museum practitioners and leaders currently working on transformative museum experience projects. Ann’s participation in this Kress Foundation sponsored program will expand the Weatherspoon’s capacity to deliver on the transformational goals outlined in our two-year Terra and Luce funded initiative, Leading with Objects: Engaging the Community in Institutional Change.

"I am excited to help run the Art Cart here at the Weatherspoon Art Museum this summer. I get to give young people our Grab & Go take-home art projects and share information about in-museum activities. I love greeting and welcoming families as they come into the museum and greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with the wonderful Weatherspoon staff to provide chances for kids to create their own art."

ABIGAIL LAWRENCE 
New Garden Friends School Class of 2023; Guilford College Dual Enrollment

"I am a student intern in the registrar’s office where I help care for and document the art in collections and exhibitions. I enjoy working at the Weatherspoon Art Museum because of the wonderful people who take pride in all they do and share their passion for our contemporary art collection."

SAMANTHA OLESHUK
Appalachian State University; Major: Art Management

"I am an undergraduate museum assistant. This is my first internship experience and so far it has allowed me to gain new skills and knowledge every day. Everyone here is kind and I don’t mind sitting a couple of feet away from brilliant works of art."

KYAA JASAL MARIE TORRENCE
UNCG; Major: Human Development and Family Studies

There is a palpable intensity evident in work produced by our UNCG Interior Architecture (IARc) students. I believe this comes from their understanding that the thoughtful design of physical spaces has the power to change lives in immensely positive ways. The Weatherspoon’s “Inquiry Hubs” project was an amazing opportunity to put this way of thinking into action and to engage those creative muscles that aim to improve the experiences of others.

As their third-year studio design professor (IAR 302), I couldn’t be prouder of the level of professionalism and rigor in which each student approached this project. We started the process by asking ourselves, “What is the value/power of art?” and then followed up with an examination of what could/should be the role of a museum with the surrounding community. We combined this information with the given design brief to reimagine how individuals could interact with the museum’s objects.

The UNCG IARc program has a diverse student population, and because of this, we were able to evaluate the current condition from multiple perspectives. The resultant architectural solutions reflect this diversity of thought from both a philosophical point-of-view and the tangible creation of space. The students produced floor plans, 3D digital models, renderings, and video animations which highlighted the possibilities of a more impactful/inclusive museum experience through the reexamination of the relationship between the viewer and the object.

STEPHEN SKORSKI
Assistant Professor and Study Abroad Coordinator, Interior Architecture

Images: Video stills from two of the sixteen IARc team presentations: Gianna Capurso and Aleah Mazyck (top), and Ann Borden Thomas and Mahallia Ward (bottom).

During the 2021 spring semester, the Weatherspoon Art Museum hosted MFA students enrolled in the class “Contemporary Art and/as Democratic Engagement” for a session in the museum’s Dillard teaching gallery, available by appointment for faculty teaching with the museum’s collection. These sessions allow classes access to objects not currently on view in the galleries and enable students to develop close-looking skills through direct engagement with the original works of art. This Dillard session was particularly exciting because Professor Nicole Scalissi designed the class so that each student could request a work for the group to view and discuss, empowering the students to direct the conversation. If you are a UNC Greensboro faculty member and would like to learn more about Dillard sessions, contact Alice Culclasure, assistant registrar, anculcla@uncg.edu.

Photo: Martin W. Kane, University Communications, 2021.

What if we lived in a world without prisons? What if humans lost the ability to speak? What if our world mechanically folded in on itself? The Residential College core curriculum seminar Science Fiction: Literature of Change is a class about questions. These questions catch one off guard, but as students discuss them, they also start talking about how policing, voice, and social classes work in their lives right now.

One of the highlights of the semester was when I partnered with the Weatherspoon Art Museum to look at the work of Saya Woolfalk, an artist who uses science fiction to re-imagine the world. My students and I listened to her TED talk about her fantastical creations, then came to the museum to see her figurative collage, Untitled #3. It was as if her world came to life for students as they closely observed her work.

Then, working with museum staff, the students did a writing exercise that allowed them to build a narrative from Woolfalk’s creation, priming them for their final class project—writing their own science fiction short story and working as a team to create, name, and publish the stories in a class magazine. Our time spent in the Weatherspoon not only got us thinking outside of our classroom space but added depth and creativity to the student work.

DR. SARAH E. COLONNA
Associate Faculty Chair, Grogan Residential College

“I am a Museum Assistant at the Weatherspoon Art Museum. I assist visitors, staff, and others who may need my help. I enjoy greeting our visitors and helping the staff as much as possible. I find it very rewarding and beneficial working here at the Weatherspoon.”

YESENIA CRUZ DELASANCHA
UNCG Pre-Nursing

“I am a UNCG student intern working with the Weatherspoon's registrar to monitor, move, and document the art collection. I like how the museum has such a great, varied collection of art and a friendly staff who are excellent at what they do.”

EVAN WILLIAMS
UNCG History, M.A. Museum Studies

The Weatherspoon Art Museum staff is committed to the expansion of student agency and engagement with the museum and its collections. As a student learning how to use cross-disciplinary resources to expand ideas and social networks in the undergraduate community, my experience as an intern at the Weatherspoon has been invaluable.

With the goal to connect students from across UNC Greensboro, I designed, promoted, and facilitated the virtual pilot program, Co-WAM! Explore, Engage, Experiment at the Weatherspoon for eight weeks in the spring semester. The Weatherspoon staff graciously supported my work while ensuring it remained in my hands and those of the participating students.

Using Zoom to bring everyone together safely, this eight-week program sought to connect students with each other and the museum. With the goal to provide an informal space to learn how the Weatherspoon can offer academic and social resources, students enthusiastically experimented with museum’s offerings to fit their wants and needs.

Creating an open environment for students to meet museum staff and engage with its resources as a group, the program culminated in a student-curated playlist paired with the current exhibition Vibrant: Artists Engage with Color. Access to the playlist is free and publicly available on Spotify by visiting the Vibrant: Artists Engage with Color exhibition page, or by following our new Spotify channel WAMUNCG.

Though the initial Zoom sessions wrapped up at the end of March, students have been eager to continue participating in Weatherspoon programs. With the generous support of Weatherspoon staff and an iBelong grant from the UNC Greensboro Division of Student Affairs to create this pilot program, students, Weatherspoon staff, and I are excited to continue expanding initiatives such as Co-WAM! in the fall.

LAURA LEVIN
Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies; Art History
Programs and Engagement Intern, Class of 202

Anna Abhau Elliott is a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) student in UNC Greensboro’s Department of Art. As a graduate assistant in the Weatherspoon’s education program, she has spent the semester developing ekphrasis (writing about art) resources for Guilford County School teachers and students. Anna has made great use of Weatherspoon’s new mobile tour technology. Check Weatherspoon’s K-12 Education page to view her recently completed video focusing on Alison Saar’s Compton Nocturne.

In pursuing its mission to “provide [students] with an enhanced and supportive intellectual and social experience that acculturates them to the life of the mind and helps them to become critical, independent thinkers….,” Lloyd International Honors College has found an ideal campus partner in the Weatherspoon Art Museum.

Honors Colloquium sections have been visiting the Weatherspoon as a critical part of their curriculum since 2010. The course serves first-year students in the International Honors Program and aims to ease the transition to the UNCG community while also preparing students for lives dedicated to civic engagement.

The Weatherspoon plays an integral role in that preparation. During our visits, a Weatherspoon docent teaches students the difference between objective and subjective viewing and encourages students to practice their new skills in a current exhibition. Discussions moderated by the docent help students identify overarching themes in the works and can help reveal some of the goals and aims of the artist.

Many students are unaware that UNC Greensboro has an art museum before they arrive on campus, and their visit with their Colloquium section is often the student’s first introduction to the space, the collections, and the dedication to student learning. For ten years, Colloquium students have been routinely ranking the visit to the Weatherspoon as high on their list of impactful activities they do in Colloquium. The Weatherspoon does an exceptional job of making the space welcoming to community members of all ages and making room in discourse about art for novices and experts alike.

Rebecca Muich, PhD
Assistant Dean, Lloyd International; Honors College, UNCG

Image: Weatherspoon docent Marge Cromer leads a conversation in To the Hoop with students enrolled in the Honors Colloquium, October 2020.

“I am a work-study student gallery attendant. I assist the security team in making sure the art is enjoyed safely and responsibly. I enjoy getting to experience the wonderful art and welcoming staff.”

BRANDON ALLOWAY
UNCG Anthropology

“I am currently a Museum Assistant. In the gallery, I help staff with tasks they may not have time to do, whether it’s creating make and take art kits or running errands around campus. Most of the time I’m usually spot-checking and filing documents for the University Archives at the library. What I like most about the job is probably the quiet and calm atmosphere—it makes it easier to connect with gallery viewers and it’s a good space to study!”

CHRISTOPHER FOWLER
UNCG Art Administration

“As an intern at the Weatherspoon I have been able to assist Dr. Emily Stamey with a variety of activities including the organization of the museum's artist files, researching artists, and creating labels for the upcoming Art on Paper exhibition. What I like about working at the Weatherspoon is the ability to ask questions to museum staff and learn more about the procedures and activities within a museum. I am glad to be a part of an environment where I constantly learn new things.”

RIVER WALLS
UNCG Arts Administration, with a concentration in Museum Studies and minors in Art History and Interdisciplinary Arts & Social Practice, 2021


“My name is Billy Dee. I am an MFA candidate in studio arts and a graduate assistant at the Weatherspoon Art Museum. I love having the chance to interact with visitors and learning more about why they have decided to visit. I am fascinated by the ways in which WAM offers a space for reflection and quiet, for connection with art, and a space to engage deep curiosity about how artworks live in the world.”

BILLY DEE
UNCG MFA Candidate, Studio Arts, 2021


"I am completing my Graduate Assistantship with the education department at WAM, working with Terri Dowell-Dennis to create professional development resources for Guilford County Schools. For the fall, that means creating a podcast with fellow GA Billy Dee. My time at WAM is a great opportunity to both articulate what I do more clearly to myself, and to create tools for others to use. I look forward to delving deeper into WAM's collection and reflecting on the exquisite art here. Contemplating, for example, the work of Beauford Delaney is always time well spent.”

ANNA ABHAU ELLIOTT
UNCG MFA Candidate, Studio Arts, 2022