Well, the first Intern Showcase at the David Owsley Museum of Art has come and gone (and it went well, I might add). I learned an interesting fact that I hadn’t known before. This summer was the first time they’ve had three interns at once! That’s definitely a good sign of how much the Museum of Art has grown, and will continue to grow. It has been such a wonderful opportunity to be able to intern at the David Owsley Museum of Art.

Don’t worry, if you weren’t able to make it to the Intern Showcase (and see our lovely faces), here’s all you need to know about what graduate student Jennifer Tellman has been working on this summer:

Scholar's Rock is one of the objects highlighted in the tour of the China gallery.

Scholar’s Rock is one of the objects highlighted in the tour of the China gallery.

“My name is Jennifer Tellman and I am a second year graduate student in Ball State University’s History Department. For my internship at the David Owsley Museum of Art, I’m developing tours for the new galleries, highlighting specific works of art that best represent cultural exchange throughout history and across the globe.

All cultures, except the most isolated ones, adopt ideas like religion, art, technology, or literature from other cultures. However, the cultures adopting are also modifying and adapting these aspects they adopt from other cultures to suit their own culture. This is why each individual culture has a distinct form of art or different cuisines and delicacies specific to that cultural region. To help emphasize the cultural adopting and adapting present throughout history and the globe, I selected works of art that best show evidence of cultural exchange.

In the course of my internship, I hope to gain a better understanding of how cultures adopt and adapt, while presenting in a comprehensible and concise manner for any visitor to the museum.

If you get a chance, definitely stop in this coming fall for a tour developed by Jennifer. All of the new galleries are coming along quite nicely. I can hardly wait for it to be finished. To prepare for this, the David Owsley Museum of Art will be closed from Monday, July 29 to Sunday, August 11 and will reopen on Monday, August 12. Keep that in mind if you’re planning a visit in the near future.