The museum galleries filled with the sound of animated discussion between Cal students and professionals from Bay Area arts organizations during the Student Committee's second annual career event, Behind the Museum: A Forum for Careers in the Arts.
The event drew over 100 students who took advantage of this opportunity to take part in roundtable discussions and meet face-to-face with professionals in a wide range of careers, including film and museum curating, gallery management, arts writing, marketing, and fundraising and development.
The event began with a presentation by keynote speaker John Killacky, Program Officer for Arts and Culture at The San Francisco Foundation, who gave an inspiring talk on his experiences of being both an artist and an arts administrator.
Following the keynote presentation were a series of roundtable discussions in which students were able to join in small groups with professionals from a range of arts-related careers. At each table the speakers gave frank and thoughtful advice on how to get started on careers in different areas, and shared stories about their own paths and professional experiences.
Leading the roundtable discussions were: Ed Gilbert, Director, Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco; René de Guzman, Visual Arts Curator at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; Thao Bui, Program Manager, Dominic Phillips Event Marketing; David Wheelan, BAM/PFA Director of Development; Terri Cohn, arts writer, curator, and art historian; Marnie Burke de Guzman, BAM/PFA Audience Development Director; Susan Oxtoby, former Director of Programming at Cinematheque Ontario, now Senior Curator for Film at BAM/PFA; Lucinda Barnes, BAM/PFA Associate Director for Art, Film, and Programs; Sherry Goodman, Director of Education at BAM/PFA; and Steve Seid, BAM/PFA Video Curator. Three of BAM/PFA's younger professionals – Miegan Riddle, Annual Fund Coordinator, Dara Solomon, Curatorial Assistant, and Rachel Tanner, Audience Development Coordinator – also led discussions on making the transition from college to career.
Sincere thanks go to the professionals who so generously devoted their time and energy to this event; without their commitment it wouldn't have been possible. Finally, here are some examples of the positive feedback from the event:
"I found it helpful to hear how people got to their positions. They were honest about how they got there and were passionate."
"I now have a much better understanding of all the job opportunities out there."
“The speakers were very engaging.”
“AWESOME! So wonderful that you did this!”
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