Fetishes, Foreignness, and Footwear

May 21, 2025 by adamuseum

By: J. Baranzelli, UCSB undergraduate student Initially written for ARTHI 187A: Approaches to Objects The AD&A Museum contains a pair of wooden sandals that are stated to have been found somewhere in Tanzania or Kenya, likely belonging to the Swahili people. The sandals consist of flat wooden soles that match the shape of a foot. They are nine inches long and three inches wide and likely belonged to a woman. No straps or other devices are securing the foot to […]

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Student Energy Takes Over: A Look Back at Night at the Museum

April 24, 2025 by adamuseum

By Jordynn Nieman, AD&A Communications Intern This past Wednesday, April 16th, the AD&A Museum at UCSB buzzed with life, music, and creativity as students gathered for Night at the Museum—an evening event curated for students by students. AD&A interns Vivan Howard and Elaine Huang took the lead in organizing Night at the Museum. It was a thoughtful, hands-on experience that invited students to engage with art in a fresh and approachable way. Their goal was to create a space where students could feel comfortable exploring the […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, europe, history, museum, travel

Art Careers in the Heart of Los Angeles

February 12, 2025 by adamuseum

By Miguel Ortiz Garcia, AD&A Communications Intern Our group of AD&A interns recently had the opportunity to tour two prestigious institutions in Downtown Los Angeles: The Broad and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Upon arrival at The Broad, we were welcomed by Art Director Alexandra Garcia, who guided us through the temporary exhibition Joseph Beuys: In Defense of Nature. Garcia shared discoveries from her professional journey, describing her progression from forming a part of the Visitor Experience team to her […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, history, internship, museum, museum studies, ucsb

The AD&A Internship Experience

January 17, 2025 by adamuseum

By Miguel Ortiz Garcia, AD&A Communications Intern Our work at the AD&A Museum at UC Santa Barbara goes far beyond housing creativity. It serves as a launchpad for future art professionals. Here, students dive into the intricate world of museum operations, balancing hands-on learning with professional mentorship. For a few exceptional interns, this experience became a defining chapter in their academic journeys. Through their eyes, we explore what it means to grow as both a student and an aspiring professional […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, education, history, internship, museum, museums, ucsb

Clay, Vibrance, and Fantasy: Reflecting on Josefina Aguilar

May 4, 2024 by adamuseum

A vibrant picturesque scene of serenity encapsulates Josefina Aguilar’s artwork, Untitled, displayed in A Box of One’s Own. The exterior of the box is wrapped in a scenic view that combines both the beauty of the ocean and the night. Inside of the box are four clay figurines: a man that holds a bird, a child that holds a toy, and a woman that holds a child. In front of the box, there is a clay mermaid couple who embrace […]

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Bodies of Work

May 2, 2024 by adamuseum

By Yuriko Chavez The body is but a fleshy bag that encapsulates the bone, the muscle, and the soul — at least that’s what Figure Drawing Club’s “Bodies of Work” delves into.  The gallery is made up entirely of the artists that frequent a bi-weekly club, where they consistently create figure art. In their panel of text leaned up against the wall, they share that each artist approaches the creation of the artistic body in their own way — whether […]

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Harmonia Rosales: Entwined

November 16, 2022 by adamuseum

In January 2022, the AD&A Museum partnered with artist Harmonia Rosales to create the exhibition Harmonia Rosales: Entwined. The show focused on Harmonia’s interweaving of representations from ancient Greek and Yoruba mythologies, challenging the viewers ideas about identity and empowerment. Within Harmonia’s work, women and people of color assume roles of power and beauty as protagonists of stories from the past. For more information about the prior exhibition, click on the videos below: Reimagining African Religious Art Harmonia Rosales: Entwined […]

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Doctor Syntax & the Bees: A Satirical Analysis

August 11, 2022 by adamuseum

By Christine Chan, AD&A Museum Intern AD&A Museum Intern, Christine Chan, Dives into the analysis of two satirical images to help visualize the various techniques used in the AD&A Museum’s print collection. Scroll down to learn more about the different types of satire and how they consistently appear in pictures to form caricature drawings. In the AD&A Museum’s collection of prints and drawings exists an etching of Doctor Syntax and the Bees. This illustration by Thomas Rowlandson was one that […]

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New Media in Local Museums

August 5, 2022 by adamuseum

By Kassandra Ledesma and Vanessa Rivera-Herrera, AD&A Museum Interns Art, Design & Architecture Museum Interns (2021–22) Kassandra Ledesma and Vanessa Rivera-Herrera developed a website featuring new media exhibitions in and around Santa Barbara. The interns also interviewed Silvia Perea, Curator of the Architecture and Design Collection (ADC) at UC Santa Barbara’s Art, Design & Architecture Museum. Perea offered insights into meeting the challenges and needs of Mona Kuhn‘s multimedia exhibition 835 Kings Road, on view at the AD&A Museum earlier this […]

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