"Along the Water:" New Models for Student Engagement
Les bords du Loing, effet du soleil (On the banks of the Loing, effect of sunlight), 1905, oil on canvas by Francis Picabia, French, 1879-1953. On loan from a private collection.
The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is pleased to share the digital exhibition, Along the Water: French and Dutch Impressionism. It is the latest project developed by student interns at the BCMA. The exhibition was slated to be installed in April 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately for the Museum, student curator Alex Withers ’21 welcomed the opportunity to transform his curatorial project into a website.
Along the Water examines the role of waterscapes in Impressionist art. The waterfront provided an opportunity for French, Dutch, and American artists to capture fleeting moments and depict scenes of modern life along the water, both for leisure and sites of labor. Alex developed this project during his summer 2019 curatorial internship at the Museum and consulted on the overall design of the site. Spring 2021 curatorial intern Camille Amezcua ’22 expanded on the exhibition’s themes to create a more robust online exhibition. Camille authored artist biographies, a highlight essays, and a Virtual Family Saturday program to provide additional opportunities to engage with the exhibition.
The online exhibition features an image gallery of artworks, generously lent to the Museum by a private collection. Selecting an image allows one to read labels and learn more about the artists and their fascination with water. The exhibition labels also reveal several artist networks within the Impressionist movement. The website also features a map view, which provides greater understanding of the importance of location for the featured artists. For example, two works made 25 years apart depict views along the shore of Le Havre, France.
The pandemic prompted the BCMA to pivot to digital engagement opportunities, which allowed students to collaborate in new and exciting ways. We are thankful for the Alex and Camille’s creative responses to develop an online exhibition. Their site serves as a model for future student-curated and designed projects that can take place at the Museum of Art.
We encourage you to explore the Along the Water: French and Dutch Impressionism and check out its various features.
Elizabeth Humphrey, Class of 2014
Illustration: A map included in the digital exhibition that indicates the locations that inspired the featured works.