Hannah Stubee

Your Time at L&C

What made you want to come to Lewis & Clark?

I knew I wanted to go to a smaller, liberal arts college that was close to a city, but not quite in the city.

How did you decide on your major?

Honestly when I came in undeclared, I knew that art classes would be a big part of my college experience, but I had intended to pick something more “practical” like biology as my major because it’s no secret that it’s really difficult to make a living off of art. I knew that studying at a liberal arts college would allow me to explore both paths. Something really beautiful and unexpected about the art program at L&C is that you learn to treat making art the same way as any other rigorous scholarly investigation of ideas. I knew that by getting an art degree at L&C, I would still learn how to think and how to use my skills in meaningful ways even if I didn’t intend to become a full-time artist.

Describe the arts-related highlight(s) of each of your years on campus.

• First year: It was super cool to live in the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) living-learning community and get inspired by other artists (many of whom would become my peers in the studio art program).
• Second year: I was so blown away by the fall 2018 production of Sweeney Todd! The costumes, the talent… ugh. Amazing.
• Third year: The 2020 Making a Better Painting Symposium brought in such amazing talent from across the Pacific Northwest and I am so grateful to Associate Professor Cara Tomlinson for giving me the opportunity to help organize it.
• Fourth year: Blissters, the 2021 senior art thesis exhibition: SO difficult, but so rewarding to see an idea through from the sketchbook all the way to the gallery wall.

What was your overall favorite arts-related class? Why?

Technically Curatorial Affairs was an offering through the entrepreneurial leadership and innovation program and not the art department, but it was taught by Daniel Duford, a local working artist. We got to go out into the city in almost every class to meet all sorts of people in the arts industry, including artists, curators, conservators, and collectors.

What was your overall favorite non-arts-related class? Why?

Visual Anthropology with Assistant Professor Kabir Mansingh Heimsath completely changed my thinking about how aesthetic decisions influence us. Not only was it super fun to watch movies and analyze media as a class, but I learned about art theory that I still use today in my master’s program for museum studies.

Did you have any arts internship or professional development opportunities while you were at Lewis & Clark?

I interned twice for a painting conservator that I met through my Curatorial Affairs class; worked on the 2020 PNW Painting Symposium; curated a library exhibition as part of my Archives Practicum with Watzek Library’s Special Collections; and participate in the junior/senior art shows. All of these experiences look great on my resume!

Your Time Since L&C

How did Lewis & Clark prepare you for your internship and graduate school?

Even though the studio art major is meant to prepare students to become working artists rather than to work in museums more broadly, the theory I learned and the practical work experience I was able to get were a really great introduction to the work I’m doing now. I was also able to personalize my program of study by incorporating anthropology, entrepreneurship, an archive practicum and other art-adjacent classes that I knew would prepare me to work in a museum or related setting.

Now that you’ve been out of college for a while, what would you say is the most important thing you learned at Lewis & Clark?

It does not matter if you don’t remember a single thing you learn in school. College is meant to teach you how to be open to new ideas, make connections between them, and make meaning from them.

What are your career goals?

I am currently working on my masters in museum studies for collections management at George Washington University, so hopefully one day I will work in a museum and help keep track of, store, and care for art and artifacts.