CREATIVE CAREERS Arthur Zankel Music Center and the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery continue to have a deep impact on the lives and careers of Skidmore students and alumni. Since each opened, the Tang and Zankel have been deeply woven into the College’s liberal arts mission and represented cultural anchors for the entire region. Both are now marking milestone anniversaries, and their impact has never been more profound: As the Tang celebrates 20 years as a leader among academic and contemporary art museums, and Zankel has served as a hub of musical activity for more than a decade, countless students and alumni recall the ways that these cultural institutions have also shaped their career paths — in the arts and beyond.
Careers on exhibit Over the past two decades, the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery has provided students with valuable work experiences and extraordinary access to art, artists, and ideas that supported careers both inside and outside the arts. When Alec Unkovic ’12, a classics major, applied for the inaugural Eleanor Linder Winter ’43 Endowed Internship, his future was uncertain. He had little idea how the experience at Skidmore College’s Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery would change his career trajectory. Throughout his senior year and the summer after graduation,
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Unkovic learned to handle art and write condition reports about the objects in the museum’s care. He conducted research and wrote for catalogues and exhibitions. He assisted visiting artists like Nancy Grossman, Pam Lins, and Kiki Smith with their exhibitions. He even interviewed Smith on stage. For his capstone project, he curated “Twisted Domestic,” an exhibition of work from the Tang collection that explores people’s complex relationships with the idea of home. “The Tang was foundational in giving me the skill set that allows me to have the career I have now,” said Unkovic, exhibitions manager at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, which is known for working with artists to create and show new work.
“I learned from the Tang how to make an artist feel welcome, which has a direct impact on my career,” Unkovic said. “I also learned from the entire Tang staff, who were generous and kind to me, and always willing to say yes. So I try to emulate that generosity to create an atmosphere of collegial collaboration at the Fabric Workshop.” Unkovic is one of numerous Skidmore alumni whose lives have been shaped by Tang experiences over the past two decades. Each semester, hundreds of students visit the Tang for classes, events, and exhibitions, which are fully integrated into Skidmore’s liberal arts mission. “Students who find their way to the Tang are curious, open-minded, and creative thinkers who are often attracted to art, or ideas about art, and are often surprised by the rigorous work involved at the museum and how much we ask of them,” said Dayton Director Ian Berry, who has worked at the Tang since before it opened in 2000 and has served as a mentor to Skidmore students ever since. “At the same
time, students bring energy and ideas that help us see the work in our growing collection of more than 17,000 objects in new ways, but also about what a museum can be.” Today, nearly 30 students work at the Tang in all departments each semester, including four students who hold year-long named internships. More than 50 students volunteer on the Tang Student Advisory Council, helping to program events for College and public audiences. Their work behind the scenes gives them valuable work experiences and extraordinary access to art, artists, and ideas that can prepare them for careers both inside and outside the arts.
Alec Unkovic ’12
