Alumni Spotlight: Curatorial Assistant Nora Stewart ‘21
by Zoë Roos Scheuerman ’24
Some people might find it stressful that an English degree doesn’t always match a particular career path the way that, for example, a computer science or premed degree (stereotypically) does. However, the English major’s flexibility and wide-ranging career paths speak to the universality of English skills, not their supposed nebulousness or alleged lack of value. In October, fellow senior Words editor Patrick Coy-Bjork beautifully illustrated this through his stellar alumni profile on Magdalena Mora ‘13. For our last issue of the semester, we reached out to Nora Stewart ‘21 to catch up and for insight into her job as a curatorial assistant at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA).
Originally from Maryland, Nora is currently based in the Twin Cities and graduated in December 2021 with a double major in English and Art History. During her last semester, Nora worked in the gift shop at the MIA part-time, a job that morphed into full-time employment after graduation. Nora explained that working in curation at the MIA was her “ultimate goal,” one she pursued by consistently applying to positions in curation while working in the gift shop. She was eventually able to move to back-of-house, administrative work, and recently acquired a position as a curatorial assistant for Art of the Americas!
Nora detailed that the Department of the Arts of the Americas has three curators, each of whom specializes in a different region and subcategory of American art (e.g. Native American art). Nora assists all three curators, so she encounters a myriad of different mediums, artistic traditions, and administrative tasks on a daily basis. Some of her many duties include requesting to move art to display or storage, submitting labels for displayed art, developing contracts for event speakers, scheduling tours and other programming, fielding cold calls from potential sellers or donators, and requesting invoices for acquired art. She especially loves working on the department’s special projects, including, right now, special exhibitions and the development of institutional due diligence guidelines. Nora emphasized that the key to success in an eclectic role like hers is to, “be very organized, and ask a lot of questions!”
When asked about how the skills she developed at Mac have come into play after graduation, Nora reflected on how valuable the interdisciplinary work she was able to do at Mac was. She recalled English classes, especially ones she took with Dr. Geng and Dr. English, as offering her lots of room to combine literary theory and analysis with the visual analysis she learned as an Art History major. “So much of it is being a good communicator,” she stressed about her current work. As multifaceted as Nora’s duties are, her tasks almost always demand excellent communication, especially written communication skills – as well as the analytical skills which she honed in the English and art history departments.
Nora’s advice for current students thinking about postgrad life? If you don’t feel ready for graduate school, don’t give in to the pressure to go right away. And: “be open to practical concerns,” like being financially stable, something that graduate school might not guarantee. Nora said that she originally thought she would go to graduate school “within a year or two,” but securing a prestigious position which she had pursued for several years made her reconsider that timeline.
In Magdelana Mora’s alumni profile, she highlighted the amount of time– years– that it took her to settle into a career that felt like a good fit. Nora’s experience differs from Magdelana’s in that, when Nora graduated, she knew what kind of work she wanted and had a foot in the door. However, both alumni experiences showcase the importance of showing yourself grace and flexibility. Slowing down and being open to change, as Nora’s experience shows, isn’t incompatible with pursuing a career goal– and sometimes, the most rewarding decisions are the ones you don’t expect!
A huge thanks to Nora for her time, thoughts, and coffee! The Words highly recommends checking out the MIA special exhibition that Nora assisted with. In Our Hands: Native Photography 1890 to Now is open until January 14th, 2024. Reimagining Native/American Art, a collaborative reinstallation of a suite of American art galleries, will also be on view through May 27th, 2024.