Poor little fish! They’re swimming toward the crocodile, unaware they’re about to be eaten. This scene, and the concept of a flag-within-a-flag, sparked my curiosity. I turned to the internet. The Smithsonian webpage said this flag was designed by an Asafo or local militia that maintains order in Ghanaian Fante communities. The upper left-hand flag is particular to the Asafo, while the larger pink fabric depicts the proverb: “Fish grow fat for the benefit of the crocodile.” Though my first reaction was pity, the proverb convinced me to consider the practical inevitabilities of the circle of life.
Sanjana Gothi ‘17
As the 2016-17 Eleanor Linder Winter ’43 intern, I spent the fall semester working with the Engagement Team, and the spring and summer with the Exhibitions Team.
With the Engagement Team, I worked closely with Megan Hyde, the Museum Educator for College and Public Programs. We developed and produced once-a-week, student-centered activities, which ranged from discussion forums regarding relevant socio-political issues to recreational events such as open mic nights, clothing swaps, and concerts.
One of the biggest events of the fall was Election Night on November 8, 2016. Hundreds of students, faculty members, and Saratoga Springs community members gathered in the Wachenheim Gallery, which had been transformed into a space for public events related to the election season. Beneath fifty worn and tattered U.S. flags, which was an art project by Mel Ziegler called Flag Exchange, there was a large stage surrounded by various types of seating. Large-screen TVs on the stage showed news broadcasts of election returns. Now and then, a professor would get up and speak into a mic to talk about what was happening. It was a momentous night. The event was co-sponsored by the Tang and Skidmore College clubs Democracy Matters, College Republicans, and College Democrats. The mood started out being festive, but it soured when it was clear that Hilary Clinton would lose to Donald Trump.
Through that event and the many others I worked on, I learned the importance of building relationships with Skidmore faculty, students, and clubs to increase community participation in programs hosted by the Tang and to bolster future collaborations between the school and museum.
2016-17 Winter Intern Sanjana Ghoti ‘17 works the Election Night Extravaganza photobooth, Tang Teaching Museum, November 8, 2016, photo by Andrzej Pilarczyk.
In the spring, I worked as an exhibition assistant and focused on researching and condensing information into easy-to-read, relatable, and thought-provoking museum labels, intended to concisely demonstrate the purpose and relevance of the artworks on display.
I focused a lot of my time on the exhibition If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day: Collections of Claude Simard, which presented a diverse array of work such as Ghanaian Fante Asafo flags, Bagh Textiles from India, Serpentology Drawings (also from India), ritual masks from Africa, and contemporary artwork by artists such as Radcliffe Bailey, Nick Cave, Brad Kahlhamer, Titus Kaphar, Kerry James Marshall, Jackie Nickerson, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Chris Ofili, Gabriel Orozco, Malick Sidibé, Jeff Sonhouse, Nancy Spero, Leslie Wayne, and Hank Willis Thomas.
For the work on view by Malick Sidibé, I co-wrote with Jonah Jablons ’17 and Alicia Russo ’17 an extended wall label about his work. This label is now part of the Tang collection. When you look up a Sidibé photograph in the online collection, you can read the wall label I helped write.
In the summer, I began an ambitious project to connect my experiences working for both engagement and exhibitions: outreach, which engages students by catering to their interests, and curatorial, which exposes students to new concepts within the art world and explores its relevance. Though I didn’t complete the writing project by the end of my internship, I intend to reach audiences that do not typically gravitate toward art, knowing as I do know about the importance of outreach. Especially in light of the disheartening sociopolitical climate and proposed NEA budget cuts, it is vital to show how necessary art can be for everyone. Art can tackle life head-on by engaging with issues that impact people beyond the walls of a museum.
Sanjana on an Asafo Flag
Sanjana at work in the exhibition If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day: Collections of Claude Simard.