Assistant Curator Hilary Schroeder

What is your favorite part of your job?

Seeing people get excited about art as much as I do! Whether it’s a student on a tour who comments on something I’ve never noticed before in a work, a docent asking a really great question during training, or a visitor who expresses to us how much a work resonated with them, I get all the warm fuzzies when I see people connect to an idea or object in thoughtful, meaningful ways.

What’s your favorite work in the Collection and why?

It seems unfair to pick just one when I love so many! I always joke that when I spend more than five minutes with a work of art, I’m likely to fall in love (I’m only half-joking, to be honest). Some consistent favorites, though, are Roger Brown’s Plants that Glo in the Dark Tra-La (it actually glows in the dark!) and Robert Gordy’s Arcady #5, which is a recent acquisition we haven’t shown yet. I’m also very fond of our growing photography collection.

What’s your favorite menu item from our rooftop café?

The mushroom quiche with a Caesar salad! The salad dressing is so flavorful, and the cornbread croutons make for a fun twist on a classic, while the quiche is filled with delicious mushrooms!

What do you like to do when you’re not at the Museum?

I am a student and instructor at Empyrean Arts, where I focus on dance trapeze primarily but do a little silks and pole, too. Being in the air, getting creative, and tricking myself into some exercise is the best! I also love going to ballet and other dance classes. Otherwise, you can often find me deep in a fantasy novel or having (sometimes mis-)adventures in cooking.

Best advice for young students looking for a career in the art world?

Find an area that you are really passionate about, but make sure you expose yourself to other things in the art world, too. For example, if you know you want to do curatorial work, find opportunities to learn about education, development, art handling, and facilities because the various areas are so interconnected. You may even surprise yourself by really enjoying something you’d never thought of as an option!

What topic would you like to see addressed through curation?

I’ve been thinking a lot about new media art recently, and I’d enjoy seeing more exhibitions that feature new media alongside traditional forms of fine art. New media allows us to consider the impact of technology on the arts as well as the possibilities for creativity that it opens up. I also think it’s an interesting lens through which we can understand ourselves and the world around us, since technology is becoming increasingly pervasive. On the other hand, I have a special place in my heart for exhibitions that encourage us to pause as a result of the richness of their simplicity (whether in exhibition design or content), and I think we could all use a bit more of that kind of reflection through art as well.

What’s one thing you would recommend that visitors must see or do before leaving the Museum?

Everyone should definitely take the time to traverse the Collection Hall and the exhibition Intersections in American Art. Whether it’s your first time or 50th time at the Museum, the works from our Collection on view in that exhibition reveal more of themselves and their interconnectedness with every visit to the space.

Share a fact about yourself that hardly anyone knows.

I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons with the same group of friends remotely for over four years! This probably won’t surprise anyone who gets to know me, as you’ll quickly learn that I’m a very enthusiastic self-proclaimed nerd.

Share a fun fact about the Museum that most people don’t know.

You might not know that following the big construction and renovation project, the Museum’s Library found its new home in one of the original Pack Library reading rooms that served as a gallery for many years. The space has come full circle and holds knowledge-filled books once again!