2008 Woodie Awards
Spotlight on...Emmie Donadio
Alexxa Gotthardt
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: Arts
Emmie Donadio is the Chief Curator of the Middlebury College Museum of Art and Co-Faculty head of Atwater Commons. Donadio has worked in the museum since its inception in 1990, first as assistant director, then as associate director and, since 2004, as chief curator. Her most recent curatorial endeavor is "Screened and Selected: Contemporary Photography and Video Acquisitions 1999-2005." Currently on show, this innovative, cutting-edge exhibition surveys the museum's growing collection of contemporary photography and video art made possible by Marianne Boesky '99 and the involvement of current Middlebury students.
The Middlebury Campus: When did you come to Middlebury and did you start right away and a curator for the Museum?
ED: I came to Middlebury in 1977 with my husband who had a position in the American Literature Department. I was lucky to be hired by the History of Art Department to teach sections of the Art Survey course. That was in '77 and '78. Then I taught at UVM for two years, where I taught survey courses and my specialties which were, at that time, Northern Renaissance Art and Modern Sculpture. I did critiques of students at UVM, and some of my students from that period of my life have gone on to become well-known art historians, so that's pretty exciting. Middlebury College didn't have a museum until 1990. Richard Saunders, the director of the museum, was hired in 1985 and my position was created in 1990, when I assumed the responsibilities of assistant director. I became chief curator two years ago, and before that I was dssociate director for many years. We have a small museum staff, so I've had the opportunity to do a whole range of activities and projects in conjunction with the museum.
The Campus: What does the role of chief curator entail at the Middlebury Museum of Art?
ED: The chief curator role is undergoing some evolution. There wasn't a chief curator until two years ago. When Colin Mackenzie, curator of Asian art, came to work at the museum, the director of the museum was the college curator and I was associate director. Now, as chief curator, I have oversight of all the collecting activity of the museum and I work in conjunction with Colin Mackenzie, the curator of Asian art, and Pieter Broucke ,who has recently been appointed an adjunct curator of ancient art. And we all, of course, report to the director. We all work with each other. As associate director, because we are a small museum, I was also responsible for public relations and press releases, etc. but our museum coordinator Douglas Perkins has taken on a large part of that responsibility so I can focus more fully on the collection. I am also responsible for determining, along with our registrar, which works need conservation and coming up with a plan for the acquisition of 20th and 21st century art because that's actually my area of greatest interest.
The Middlebury Campus: When did you come to Middlebury and did you start right away and a curator for the Museum?
ED: I came to Middlebury in 1977 with my husband who had a position in the American Literature Department. I was lucky to be hired by the History of Art Department to teach sections of the Art Survey course. That was in '77 and '78. Then I taught at UVM for two years, where I taught survey courses and my specialties which were, at that time, Northern Renaissance Art and Modern Sculpture. I did critiques of students at UVM, and some of my students from that period of my life have gone on to become well-known art historians, so that's pretty exciting. Middlebury College didn't have a museum until 1990. Richard Saunders, the director of the museum, was hired in 1985 and my position was created in 1990, when I assumed the responsibilities of assistant director. I became chief curator two years ago, and before that I was dssociate director for many years. We have a small museum staff, so I've had the opportunity to do a whole range of activities and projects in conjunction with the museum.
The Campus: What does the role of chief curator entail at the Middlebury Museum of Art?
ED: The chief curator role is undergoing some evolution. There wasn't a chief curator until two years ago. When Colin Mackenzie, curator of Asian art, came to work at the museum, the director of the museum was the college curator and I was associate director. Now, as chief curator, I have oversight of all the collecting activity of the museum and I work in conjunction with Colin Mackenzie, the curator of Asian art, and Pieter Broucke ,who has recently been appointed an adjunct curator of ancient art. And we all, of course, report to the director. We all work with each other. As associate director, because we are a small museum, I was also responsible for public relations and press releases, etc. but our museum coordinator Douglas Perkins has taken on a large part of that responsibility so I can focus more fully on the collection. I am also responsible for determining, along with our registrar, which works need conservation and coming up with a plan for the acquisition of 20th and 21st century art because that's actually my area of greatest interest.