The space filled almost immediately with the sound of excited chatter and laughter, audible even upstairs in Angles Café.
New IU Art Museum Director David Brenneman participated in an Ice Cream Social yesterday, with the purpose of introducing himself to students and the community.
Brenneman has been the acting director since July and said his job has filled with opportunities for growth and discovery so far.
“I’m having a blast,” Brenneman said. “Every day I’m discovering something new. There are treasures here — the place is just incredible. I have also been saying this quite a lot: there’s a city’s worth of culture in a pretty small geographic area.”
According to his biography, Brenneman brought with him more than 20 years of experience in museums. He said his career began with a bachelor’s degree in art history from Penn State University before graduate school at Brown University.
He said museum work was not the only path he considered during his time in university.
“I wasn’t decided at that point whether I wanted to be a teacher of art history or a curator,” Brenneman said. “After I got to Brown, I worked on an exhibition project as a graduate student, which I really loved, that sort of pointed me in the direction of museums.”
Brenneman said graduate school is essential to a career in the museum world. After graduate school, he worked at progressive apprenticeships, fellowships and assistant curatorships.
Brenneman’s most recent experience included a role as director of collections and exhibitions at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.
Students of art history and beyond came out to meet Brenneman at the social event. They addressed what they would like to see at the museum, from covered bike racks and sustainability measures outside the museum to diversity in genres on display at the museum.
Andrew Wang, an art history student and employee of the museum, said modern pieces would help court the student population.
“I would like to see more contemporary work, something that connects more to the youth,” Wang said. “I see a lot of people come in here and kind of just shrug their shoulders. They don’t really feel a deep connection to any of the works on display sometimes.”
Sarah Jenkins, another art history student and employee in the Fine Arts Library, advised that the museum mix up their collection to include “old stuff, new stuff — all together to really say something.”
“It’s one thing to admire works of art,” Jenkins said. “It’s another to really connect with them.”
Brenneman said he was looking forward to incorporating students into the discussion when it comes to improving the museum.
“There’s so much to do here, I’m having a tremendous time,” Brenneman said. “One thing I was really anxious to do was to meet students. I’m very happy to see that students have shown up.”
In terms of goals for the museum, Brenneman said he wanted to open up the museum to the larger art communities both at IU and in Bloomington in general.
“The big picture here is that the museum is fantastic, the collection is absolutely amazing and what I’m going to try and do is really unleash this place,” Brenneman said. “We’ve got the great art, we’ve got a great building and we’re surrounded by art in terms of music, film and theater. People on the outside of the University need to discover this place and experience it.”
