Department/Program

Claremont Colleges Library

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2016

Abstract

It can be challenging to forge connections between an academic library and undergraduate art students, who are often heavily engaged in beginning studio practice and may only associate the library with the more traditional research done by other disciplines. One way to overcome this challenge is to change their perceptions of the library through programming that demonstrates that the library can be a site for exploration, inspiration, research, and innovation by artists. At the Claremont Colleges Library, we partnered with a member of the art faculty to create a Library Artist in Residence (LAIR) program, which has the twin goals of strengthening connections between the library and visual art students and faculty, and promoting creative and innovative ways of using/thinking about the library. The residency provides a professional artist with a workspace in which to create new artwork that engages with library spaces, collections, history, and/or people. The resident artist works with art students and installs a public exhibition of the finished artwork in the library. This presentation will describe the LAIR collaboration, detailing our successes, opportunities for improvement, and plans for the future.

Comments

Presentation at ARLIS/NA + VRA 3rd Annual Joint Conference on March 11, 2016 in Seattle, WA.

Rights Information

© 2016 Alexandra Chappell, unless otherwise noted for specific content.

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