Meet the Spring 2021 Curatorial Department of Art Interns.

Reem Mohammed Al Alawi

Biography:

My name is Reem Mohammed Al Alawi and I am a senior at the University of Evansville. I am from Al Buraimi, Oman, and am majoring in Archaeology and minoring in Art History. I decided to study archaeology because I am passionate about material culture and appreciate studying other cultures. By my junior year, I added a minor in art history because I grew to appreciate the discipline. My favorite areas in art history are contemporary Islamic, medieval, and Japanese art.

While attending UE, I was able to participate and receive archaeological training in the Porta Sano Project of Death in Pompeii, Italy. From this experience, I learned more about anthropological paleontology and archaeology because I worked with human and animal remains. This amazing opportunity was made possible because of the Archaeology and Art History Department. I will forever be grateful for such experiences and to the professors for the rest of my life.

Reflection:

I was amazed that I got a chance to be a research intern for the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science. Although it was hard because of the current situation, I was pleased to intern with Tory, the Virginia G. Schroeder Curator of Art, at the Museum. She helped me a lot, because as a college senior, she offered great advice about museum careers. Moreover, the artifacts I worked with appear to be Iranian epic poems. These poems came from the greatest poets of Iranian history such as Saadi Shirazi and Ferdowsi. These poems are incredible and well-written, according to critics. I was also interested in their art form, which is calligraphy along with small paintings. The calligraphy is written with grace and precision and the paintings were for illustration purposes. They have a very distinguished style for their time, which is approximately 600 A.D. This research experience helped me gain more knowledge about something that I admire, and it allowed me to explain Iranian poems in-depth. I hope this paper aids the museum’s collection of these artworks. I learned many things and am sure that I will use this experience in my next career adventure. I am very thankful for Tory and my Art History Professor, Dr. Strobel, for this incredible experience at the Evansville Museum.

To hear Reem discuss her presentation and research, click HERE for the final presentation.

Baylee Parten

Biography:

My name is Baylee Parten and I graduate from the University of Evansville in Spring 2021. I have always wanted to be an archaeologist ever since I saw “The Mummy” (1999 version) when I was five years old. When I found out that it could be a real job, I jumped at the chance. I loved learning about the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Mesopotamians, Incas, Aztecs, Mayans, and anything else I could ever get my hands on. Ever since then, I threw myself into learning all I could about archaeology, anthropology, and artifacts. It was a dream come true to experience digging in different environments like on the Jezreel Expedition and the Tin City Excavations. Currently, I am helping Dr. Ebeling on Jezreel publications and a database for the site. These experiences have brought out a part of archaeology that I didn’t even know I loved until I completed the seasons. This internship has also opened my eyes to real museum work and realizing technology is not as evil as I thought it was. Archaeology has always been my passion, and with it, I have been able to draw inspiration from ancient art and architecture into my own art pieces. There is so much to uncover and learn about in this world. I hope to expand my already growing knowledge of archaeology to cultures that I haven’t yet studied in great depth. I truly believe I wouldn’t have received all the opportunities that I did if I had gone to college anywhere else. I am grateful to my professors at UE and my internship supervisor, Tory Schendel Cox for everything that they have done for me to get me ready for the real world outside of college.

About the Internship:

To me, this internship was the beginning of my career in museum work. I have always wanted to work at a museum ever since I was five years old and watched “The Mummy.” The biggest problem I’ve faced in my time in college was what I was going to narrow my field too. I have changed my mind so many times because I got interested and invested in so many aspects of archaeology and art history. When it was suggested that I work on this particular project that bridged the gap of my interests in forensics and art history, I jumped at the chance. Not only was I researching the different sciences used for this type of work, but I was helping put together an actual exhibit that will be put on display. They say that if you do what you love, then you never work a day in your life. I don’t feel like I am working so much as doing what I love when helping with this internship.

What it was like working on it:

Working on this exhibition was definitely an eye-opening experience. I never knew just how much collaboration went into putting together an exhibit. I knew that everyone had their jobs that they were responsible for, and they had to work together to come up with research, captions, pictures, artifacts, and paperwork. Of course, it is not just the work within the museum, but also the collaboration with multiple museums for artifact loans and research. Some challenges presented themselves when I was first getting started, especially the juggling of time management when having other classes and independent research. However, after a few weeks, I was able to get the hang of what I was required to do. It was an experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world because it gave me some much-needed insight into what I would like to do with the rest of my life.

What I learned from it:

I learned something new every single day that I helped on this project. I learned everything from writing exhibit captions to networking with archaeologists and art historians at different museums. I learned about museum cataloging programs and the different positions in the museum. I also learned more about biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and physics of the forensics processes than I ever thought I would know. I am the first to admit that I was not the best at these subjects but learning about how they can be incorporated into a field that I love making them more desirable than I originally thought. I even learned more about archaeology, art history, and history that I didn’t know before. I am so grateful for this opportunity and all the knowledge that came with it. I am going to carry this experience with me forever and treasure it with all my heart.

To hear Reem discuss her presentation and research, click HERE for the final presentation.