The Conservancy is excited to introduce our global community to our newest team member, Sydney Sheehan!
Sydney is our Curatorial Associate and is the driving force behind numerous special projects, such as our recent T-shirt campaign and our Museum Planning Survey. Sydney comes to us from Columbia University. She has a Master of Arts in American Art and a real passion for our Flagship.
We are so excited to have her on our team!
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE SS UNITED STATES CONSERVANCY?
After writing my M.A thesis on 19th Century figureheads, I was eager to find a position where I could apply both my knowledge of maritime history and experience in the art history/museum world. After some research, I came across the open position for the Conservancy’s Curatorial and Preservation Internship and knew it sounded like a great fit. My work as an American art historian of the ‘long nineteenth-century’ has allowed me to engage with notions of American visual and symbolic identity. Working with a collection of artifacts and art work from America’s Flagship seemed like a great next step for me to continue thinking through ways in which American art and history can be further engaged with. I am so happy to be staying on with the Conservancy as a Curatorial Associate!
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AS THE CONSERVANCY'S CURATORIAL ASSOCIATE?
My role as a Curatorial Associate is to help curate virtual exhibitions that engage the public, draft and edit descriptions of the Conservancy’s collections for digital and print outreach/ display, assist with museum planning surveys and research reports, as well as build up the conservancy’s oral history initiative!
IN YOUR WORK WITH THE CONSERVANCY THUS FAR, WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?
I am most proud of my work on the Museum Planning Survey Report. This has been a big project to undertake (with over 1,000 responses to analyze!) but it has been so worth being able to hear the ideas and interests of the SS United States Conservancy’s audience. I can’t wait to be able to share the finished product!
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THE CONSERVANCY IN THE FUTURE?
I am hoping to curate an engaging and critical digital exhibition and program. Now that many museums have moved their exhibitions and collections online, we have an opportunity to really engage with the public… virtually! With more and more people comfortable using platforms like Zoom, we will likely be able to reach an even larger audience than we would if we held a panel discussion in person!
A digital exhibition will be a great way to give our supporters a sneak peek at what they might expect when we open our future museum to the public, while also being able to share the magnificent collection we have already assembled.