ePackets, interactive class portfolios curated by faculty and BCMA staff, are the foundation of a virtual class visit, and a springboard for student research. Using ePackets, Bowdoin faculty and students can explore exhibition histories, scholarly commentaries, object-handling videos produced with faculty (more below), 3d and 360* images, and faculty notes
Remote Learning Resources
We are excited to share some of the new ways to create opportunities for learning through meaningful and innovative curricular engagement. We invite you to explore the possibilities together with us.
As we embark on a new semester of remote learning, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) is excited to share new ways to access and engage museum objects in the remote classroom and invite you to explore the possibilities together with us. During the COVID-19 pandemic, BCMA has been hard at work developing new strategies for synchronous and asynchronous remote learning involving the collection, including virtual visits, class projects and online exhibitions. We remain committed to partnering with faculty and the campus community to create opportunities for learning through meaningful and innovative curricular engagements. We are confident that together, we can creatively meet new and evolving curricular needs and enrich our learning community online.
Faculty contact: Sean P. Burrus, Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellow
Student contact: Elizabeth Humphrey, Curatorial Assistant and Manager of Student Programs
Recording / Livestreaming Virtual Visits to the BCMA
Faculty members and museum staff can share exhibitions and objects with students by making use of our new recording studio for prerecorded and livestreamed virtual visits to the Museum. BCMA staff will work with you to film and produce content, including "gallery talks," object-based lectures, and object-focused video briefs.
Curatorial Guest Visits and Q&A
As always, the curatorial team at the BCMA is eager to share their expertise on BCMA collections and exhibitions with faculty and students and look forward to virtually visiting Bowdoin classes this semester. We can collaborate with faculty to develop short "gallery talks" (pre-recorded or live), and are always excited to join for a Q&A or guided discussion with students about BCMA objects (for example).
Online Exhibitions and Project-Based Learning
The BCMA is excited to continue partnering with faculty on developing project-based learning engagements around our collections and exhibitions. This spring, the BCMA launched a new template for class-curated online exhibitions. Driven by curricular themes or research questions and developed with the support of BCMA staff, online exhibitions can be one exciting and visible outcome of student learning. Recent examples of innovated project-based learning at the BCMA include the online exhibitions Spectacle in Antiquity and Beyond and Presence of the Past: Art from Central and West Africa, as well as 3D scanning projects, medal-making, and more!
Digital Resources and Publications
The BCMA has an extensive offering of digital resources, including digital catalogues, a digitized publications archive, and an archive of BCMA lectures and talks, not to mention our online collections kiosk where you can explore the Museum's entire permanent collection (over 20,000 objects) online. The online database features new and expanded search capabilities, with over half of all entries accompanied by images.
Image Request Form
Faculty can request new images of BCMA objects, including detail shots, for research and curricular purposes (request imaging of up to 10 objects with a single form)
We welcome your ideas for potential collaborations and class projects and are eager to hear about your goals for the semester ahead. We are confident that we can collaboratively and creatively meet our new and evolving curricular needs. To begin a conversation about how your courses can engage the BCMA this fall through the resources shared above or to partner on developing new strategies, faculty should email Sean P. Burrus, Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellow.
Students interested in researching works in the Museum’s collection are still encouraged to do so while learning remotely! Please reach out to Elizabeth Humphrey, Curatorial Assistant and Manager of Student Programs. She can equip students with study images, notes from the object files, and assistance with finding objects suitable for research.
