SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College senior Emma Fletcher heard the phrase “but I can’t” and immediately responded with “Sure you can. Here’s how.”
As a curatorial intern in the Richardson Family Art Museum in Wofford’s Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts, Fletcher introduces students from the Boys and Girls Clubs or local schools to the art exhibits in the galleries. She also shares with them life skills and the strategies for success that she’s learned during her four years at Wofford.
“We talk with students about the art, what they like and why they like it. We answer questions and have related activities, like leading them on an ‘I-Spy’ scavenger hunt or helping them make their own lap quilts,” says Fletcher, an art history and humanities major from Omaha, Nebraska.
Piecing together the lap quilt, which posed a challenge for the children, allowed them to practice persistence and patience through the creation of art. The experience went along with an event during which the children met figurative cloth painter Dawn Williams Boyd. Boyd’s “Scraps from My Mother’s Floor” exhibition reflects her interest in American history as it affects and is affected by its African-American citizens.
“It’s an excellent example of the college’s outreach and how the arts can positively impact a community,” says Dr. Youmi Efurd, Wofford’s arts curator.
Fletcher was taking the Museum Studies course with Efurd when she learned about the opportunity to serve as a curatorial intern. Now she works with Efurd to create programming based on exhibitions on campus. She receives academic credit and practical experience for her work, something that already has paid dividends for her future. In the fall, Fletcher will begin a master’s degree in art history at Texas Christian University, where she has a full scholarship and stipend.