Name: Chloé Dukes
Hometown: South Bend, Indiana
Year in school: Second Year MAAA
Q: How did you come to find yourself at the MAAA program?
A: I have my BFA in graphic design but when I got to my last semester I realized that I didn’t want to be a graphic designer but I still loved art spaces. So, I got an internship with the South Bend Museum of Art, in my hometown. I ended up working in IU South Bend’s (IUSB’s) student gallery space, what’s essentially a private gallery and I learned how to hang art work properly, how to talk about the collections, and price points for original works. Even though it is affiliated with the university, it was very much like a commercial space.
After that I ended up working at the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture, I did AmeriCorps for a year. I was the Arts Program Coordinator. I taught afterschool programs which were super fun. Then I ended up teaching for real, K-5, and I spent a year teaching art in Detroit.
So, Arts Education is my background. Whether it’s in museums, galleries, or an actual classroom that’s where my passions lie but I knew I would probably want to go back to school to dive more in depth about museums, curatorial studies, and educational programs.
Q: What are your thoughts about graduating? What path are you thinking about?
A: I’ll be in the Chicago area after graduation, getting back to my art. I have a few projects that are actually arts education based. I am working on a children’s book that incorporates art vocabulary within the storyline. I’m also trying to get back into talking about art news. My main thing has been soaking up all the things from Legal issues in the Arts and Arts Education and Policy. I’ve been going back and forth with my followers on Instagram and they’re interested in hearing my take on current art happenings. I’m thinking about using TikTok, or YouTube, or a podcast to talk about being an arts administrator of color, my teaching experience, what I know now versus what I knew before, how to bridge the gaps in art education, decolonizing museum spaces and what that looks like. I’m pretty excited about that.
Q: What’s been your favorite part of the program thus far?
A: Overall, the support and the flexibility of this program has made it seem less like a monster. I talked to plenty of people who had gone through their masters, or any advanced degree, and not everyone’s experience is like this. I said I wanted to have a visual arts focus and even with practicum, which I didn’t have to do with my professional experience, but I chose to do it anyway, I got to work, and get paid for it, on projects that I’d never been able to do before. I’d never made a mural before but I wanted to go through the process of asking for donations, putting the word out, and planning a large scale public art piece, whether that means designing it myself or pulling in the community to make it. It was so great to have the support to do that. This program has just made me a better artist in general. From learning how to write a contract, red flags to look out for, how to involve the community, and learning about the visual artists rights act. Coming to now understand all of those things has been really cool. I’ve seen a lot of my visual arts friends not know about some of the issues we discuss in class. Sharing that knowledge with them has been really great. I would say for the visual arts students that Legal Issues in the Arts class alone was amazing.
Q: What’s been the most challenging part of the program for you thus far?
A: Definitely the pandemic and getting to know each other. I think other cohorts before the pandemic were able to spend time together. There was only so much that we could do, but I wish that there were more opportunities to get to know each other. We’ve gotten all the way to the last quarter and have run out of time but we are trying before graduation…
Q: There’s a lot of misconception around what Arts Administration is. How do you explain it to your family or people you may meet that don’t understand what “Arts Administration” means?
A: It’s making sh*t happen in the arts. People go to a museum or a show and the magic happens on the stage but no one asks how it got there. It’s the mystery behind the curtain. It’s the Wizard of Oz, ya know? That’s who we are, putting that work in to make the magic happen.
Q: And how would you describe Arts Administration to a ten year old?
A: It’s making the magic of art happen.
As a kid, no one tells you about all these art careers that you can pursue, passions that can actually be potentially lucrative. Whether you go into the nonprofit space or commercial, you have options. There are definitely kids that don’t have the resources or connections to learn about all the career options in the arts. Who hung this art up? Who had the foresight to put this exhibition together? All those details get tossed by the wayside.
Q: If you were to meet someone who might be considering a degree in Arts Administration here at the O’Neill School, what would you say to them?
A: This is a really great program and you can do it. I had put off grad school for two years. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it, to write all the papers. And, yah, it’s gonna feel like work but it’s not going to be the most taxing of work that you might have in any other program or the experience you had in undergrad. It’s completely different when you’re deeply passionate about the work, when you’re here because you want to learn. It’s doable, and it’s doable because you want to do it. So, go for it.
Q: What advice would you give to a new MAAA student?
A: This experience is your own. It is what you make of it. Whatever is important to you, it is up to you to get that for yourself. If you want experience, if you want to try something experimental, the staff and faculty are supportive. They will help you find funding to do things. Your colleagues are also going to support you and will likely be genuinely interested in what you’re doing. It’s a good space to be.
Q: What’s on your arts and culture bucket list?
A: I just crossed off Art Basel in Miami and I actually got professional development funds to go. Of course I want to travel more, see more museums, and funky art spaces that are popping up. Art Basel in Switzerland would be cool, the og. I’m sure that will happen.
Q: Favorite work of art (any art form, genre)
A: “Heddy” by Ed Paschke. His stuff is super trippy, super psychedelic. The South Bend Museum of Art, which is a regional museum of art, acquired one of his pieces. As a child, I took Saturday morning art classes there. Whenever I would come in for art class, my artist in residence with South Bend Museum of Art, or my internship with them, that was always the piece that really stuck with me.