Annual Graduate Curatorial Exhibition

The University Museum of Contemporary Art’s annual Graduate Curatorial Exhibition is the culmination of a year-long independent project, conducted by students from key graduate programs including history of art and architecture, studio arts, Afro-American studies, and art education. Featuring works pulled primarily from the museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition demonstrates the strength and diversity of more than 3,800 works of art held by UMass. Students apply each spring, and a team of two to three students is selected. Throughout the program, the students have the opportunity to work on all aspects of creating an exhibition. They research objects, devise a thematic framework, write all exhibition texts including a central essay, design the exhibition layout, assist with installation, and produce an opening reception and related public event.

The Graduate Curatorial Exhibition program is designed to deepen students’ understanding of the intellectual and practical tasks of curation in a museum setting. It has provided students with hands-on experience and highly valuable skills in the job market.

The program has been collaborating with the History of Art and Architecture department since its inception in 2006. Beginning in 2015, the UMCA invited studio arts graduate students to collaborate with their art history peers through joint participation in the Graduate Curatorial Exhibition program. Since then, the program has expanded to include students from a range of graduate programs including art education and Afro-American studies. Working together on a collaborative exhibition project opens a breadth of possibilities for graduate students and provides a greater range of potential careers after school. The Eva Fierst Curatorial Exhibition Fund Since 2021, the Graduate Curatorial Exhibition program has been supported by The Eva Fierst Curatorial Exhibition Fund, an endowment to support the UMCA’s annual Graduate Student Curatorial Exhibition.

Eva Fierst holds a BA from Smith College. She worked as a teaching assistant at the Summer Institute for Museum Studies at Smith College, the Jewish Museum Berlin, Germany, and at Mass MoCA in North Adams. Fierst is currently involved in community art projects and serves as a founder of The Art Salon, a forum for local artists.

Artifacts at the End of a Decade (February 25 – April 30, 2021), curated by Jill Hughes, 2021 MA art history candidate, and Jessica Scott, 2021 MFA studio arts candidate, was the first Graduate Curatorial Exhibition to benefit from The Eva Fierst Curatorial Exhibition Fund.

The University Museum of Contemporary Art is grateful to the Eva Fierst Curatorial Exhibition Fund for support of this annual museum project.

The following are links to the past Graduate Curatorial Exhibitions:

FAINT/HIDDEN/SHROUDED: Contemplating Obscurity: March 27 - May 10, 2024 



Masculine Identities: Filling in the Blanks: March 23 – May 14, 2023 



We Gotta Get Out of This Place: March 24 – May 1, 2022. September 30 – December 11, 2022



Artifacts at the End of a Decade: February – April, 2021



Color in Containment: March 22 – April 29, 2018



5 Takes on African Art / 42 Flags by Fred Wilson : September 27, 2017 – December 10, 2017, January 23 – April 29, 2018



Eyes are For Asking: March 24 – May 1, 2016

Body Politic: The Anatomy of the Grotesque: March 26 – May 3, 2015

Fractured: The Modern Nude: March 27 - May 4, 2014

Shaping the View: April 3 - May 5, 2013

The Domestic Sphere Goes Pop: April 4 - May 6, 2012

The Minox and The Big Shot: Andy Warhol: September 23 - December 13, 2009

The Unexpected Encounters of Looking Again: November 28 - March 15, 2008

What Is Love: April 19 - June 3, 2007

Word and Image: May 4 - June 12, 2006