MA in Art History

Gloria (Jiaying) Dai

 Why did you choose the art history program?

After getting my Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Journalism, I spent ten years in the traditional publishing, marketing, and PR industry. When I worked as a founding member and managing editor of a local magazine in Shanghai, I enjoyed developing stories about both performing and visual arts. I loved seeing artists challenging what we considered traditional theater or visual artworks. I was later involved in the international artbook import business, which stimulated my interest in studying visual art history.

 

 

Are you currently working toward any other degrees? If so, how do the two work together – or separately?

I am currently pursuing a dual master’s degree in art history and arts management. I applied for the MA in Arts Management program with the goal of gaining knowledge in arts administration and translating my previous professional experience in journalism, publishing, and marketing into the art world. My research interests in arts management, in particular, focus on how arts initiatives can facilitate community engagement and how that community can become stronger socially and creatively. It has led me to examine the role of university galleries or exhibiting spaces and to ask questions, for example, what does that mean for the curator to construct the context?

While enrolled in the arts management program, students can take art history classes as electives. In Spring 2023, I took the Curating an Exhibition class with Dr. Heather McGuire, which not only gave me a rewarding collaborative experience in developing and producing the exhibition Reclaim, Rebirth, Reconsider: Narratives of Transformation in the Gillespie Art Gallery but, more importantly, stimulated my passion for gaining knowledge and building up scholarships in contemporary art history. I then submitted my application for the dual degree programs.

 

RECLAIM, REBIRTH, RECONSIDER: NARRATIVES OF TRANSFORMATION

The exhibition is co-curated by Mason students as part of the Art History “Curating an Exhibition Course,” with Dr. Heather McGuire.

 

What have you learned in an art history class that really surprised you/changed your perspective?

My research interest/area focuses on contemporary art. Taking the Colloquium and other seminars with a broad geographic and temporal perspective allows me to think critically about artistic practices and examine contemporary artworks through a new lens.

 

· Tell us about your dream occupation…

Being an art curator and critic in a contemporary art gallery/museum! I am also interested in exploring the opportunity to work in the art publishing industry.

 

· Have you had any interesting internships, jobs, or study abroad experiences? Tell us about it/them.

Over the past two years, I have gained experience in curation and art gallery management by developing visual art exhibitions and organizing exhibit programs. In addition to the curation class exhibitions, I had the opportunity to participate in planning and organizing exhibit programming for Edges of What I Feel in Mason Exhibitions Arlington.

 

Gloria organized and facilitated the exhibition panel of Edges of What I Feel, featuring Dr. Lisa Marie Gilman from the English and Folklore department, Dr. Heather McGuire from the Art History program, Professor Peter Winant from the School of Art, and CAPT Moira McGuire from the Arts Management program.

 

Last year, I had the great pleasure of being the curator of the exhibition Steven Luu: A Path to Healing and Transformation at the National Veterans Art Museum. Most recently, due to a summer graduate assistantship program, I co-curated the Fall 2024 exhibition RE(FORM)ER in Fenwick Gallery, University Libraries, in collaboration with Stephanie Grimm (Art and Art History Librarian and Fenwick Gallery Manager).

I am currently working with the Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) as a Graduate Assistant, supporting undergraduate research programs.