The Benjamin A. Quarles Summer Outreach Institute

Welcome Interested High School Scholars!

Overview: The Benjamin A. Quarles Humanities and Social Science Institute will select eight underrepresented minority students from Baltimore City public high schools for a summer outreach experience.  The experience is designed to expose students to the interdisciplinary nature of the humanities at Morgan through a summer Institute that aims at promoting diversity in museums and other cultural institutions. This summer outreach will focus on art exposure and appreciation. Through art handling, applied design, spatial organization, database entry, research and description and analysis, participants become familiar with cataloging and registration methods, documentation, processing and discussing works of art.

Funded Fellowship Activities and Requirements: Students selected to participate in the summer institute will gain knowledge of and exposure to museums as organizations. Students will design a small exhibition using art objects from Morgan State’s James E. Lewis Museum of Art (JELMA) to display at JELMA or the Earl S. Richardson Library. In the process of designing this exhibition, students will learn how to handle objects, digitize images of art objects, as well as research and analyze works of art, all of which will enhance their interpretive and critical thinking skills. Once a week the cohort will take a field trip to area collections (including the Baltimore Museum of Art, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Walters Art Museum, and the Rawlings Conservatory) observing objects in other contexts to learn about different collection methods and styles. During the final week of the institute, the group presents their exhibition, discussing the objects they studied over the summer and their overall experience at the institute.

Eligibility:  Students will be recruited from Baltimore-area public high schools.

Selection Criteria: Though detailed selection criteria will be determined in collaboration with the high schools, the Program will require that the students have:

• Must be a junior who is committed to attending college;
• Interested in Art, English, History, Humanities, and African American culture;
• Achieved an overall grade point average of 2.5 or above;
• Recommended by high advisor/counselor, teacher, or principal;
• Possess strong written and oral communication skills;
• Possess a familiarity with computer technology.

Application Deadline: April 24
Interviews scheduled in early May
Notifications of acceptance: May 30

Application Available Here.