Sackler Stays Open Late for Students

The Arthur M. Sackler Museum kept its doors open after hours Thursday night for a special event entitled “Science and Superstition Night at the Sackler,” hosted by the Harvard Art Museums’ Undergraduate Connection.

Students grazed on a wide spread of snacks, including various desserts decorated in black and orange in honor of Halloween. HAMUC members donned black clothing and pairs of cat ears to get in the spirit of the holiday.

Both museum curators and Harvard undergraduates conducted tours of the galleries throughout the evening. Additionally, students were able to explore the museum’s entire collection at their leisure. The event was part of an effort to attract students to the museum, and it drew about 25 students to the museum.

Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Curator of Prints Susan M. Dackerman gave a gallery tour of the special exhibit “Prints and the Pursuit of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe” on display at the Sackler for the entirety of the fall semester.

“This exhibit looks at the role that artists played in the scientific investigation in the 16th century,” said Dackerman, who encouraged students to come see the exhibit. “It’s an opportunity to see where the history of art crosses with other disciplines.”

Attendees made prints of their own and completed a scavenger hunt in the exhibit. Later in the evening, the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones performed for the attendees.

HAMUC President Shannon M. Morrow ’12 said she hopes free events such as this one will help accomplish her organization’s goal of drawing students to Harvard’s art museums. Morrow said that she has expanded the activities of HAMUC beyond planning events at the art museums and that her organization now sends out an internship listing and arranges events with curators and conservationists at Harvard for students interested in those careers.

HAMUC member Marina Molarsky-Beck ’15, a potential history of art and architecture concentrator, said that she felt more could be done to bring students to Harvard’s museums.

“People I talked to were interested in the event but didn’t even know where the Sackler was,” she said.

HAMUC will host two to three similar events for students throughout the year.

Krystle M. Leung ’15 said that though she plans to concentrate in the sciences she is very interested in art. She said she wished more students knew about Harvard’s extensive art collection, which is the largest university collection in the country.

“Art is a different way of explaining humanity,” Leung said.