SIMS: Students in Museums Summit
November 14–16, 2025
Convened by: The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Student Advisory Committee, advised by Francine Brown, Coordinator of Membership, Events, and Visitor Services.
This program brought together student participants from different college-based museums across the northeast to discuss contemporary issues facing their institutions. With a mix of students, distinguished speakers, and opportunities to connect with others in the field, this event aimed to generate ideas about the future of museums and to continue supporting student leadership within these museums.
View Highlights of the Program
Program Schedule
Topics
Keynote Presentation by Miki Garcia, Director, ASU Art Museum
A talk and discussion about making museums a place that is more inviting and attractive to a diverse audience, and how museums can help visitors feel comfortable in their spaces
Community Engagement
A group discussion was held about different methods of engaging the student body and the local community in the museum, as well as other types of programming, and what made them successful.
The Future of Programming
The future of virtual and in-person programming was discussed.
Inner Workings
The inner functions and organization of museums and our respective student groups were discussed.
Networking/Professional Development w/in Museums
Future careers and different methods of networking were discussed.
Museums as a Resource
Exploring the role of museums as both an academic and cultural resource for students and the surrounding community was discussed.
From Galleries to the Grid: Museum Storytelling on Social Media by Karen Vidangos
A presentation on how museums translated their missions into digital storytelling. Drawing from projects like the Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future, the Met Gala, and the Latinx Art Collective, the session explored how social media could educate, entertain, and build community while amplifying voices often left out of institutional narratives. Attendees gained insight into creating people-first stories that resonated across platforms and lasted beyond the algorithm.
Communications
This discussion covered communication between the museum and the local community, including social media and other forms of outreach.
Community Engagement
Different methods of engaging the student body and the local community in the museum, as well as different types of programming and what makes them successful, were discussed.
Student Engagement
How to encourage students to get in and be more involved in museums was discussed.
Identity and Representation
A focused discussion was held on how identity and representation work within the museum space.
Difficult Histories
The place of museums, given their racist and colonial past, was discussed.
Friday, November 14, 2025
Welcome Reception and Check in at the Loeb Art Center
5:00–7:00 p.m.
Join the Loeb Student Advisory Committee for refreshments and tours of the galleries by the
Loeb’s Student Guides; meet members of the Loeb staff and mingle with fellow participants.
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Breakfast at The Heartwood at Vassar Conference Room (Elm)
9:00–10:00 a.m.
Introductions, Accomplishments, and Goals
10:00–11:00 a.m.
The groups shared a program they had been working on, and challenges they had encountered.
Morning Keynote Presentation by Miki Garcia, Director, ASU Art Museum
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Lunch
12:00–1:00 p.m.
Breakout Groups - Session 1
1:00–2:00 p.m.
Community Engagement
A group discussion was held about different methods of engaging the student body and the local community in the museum, as well as different types of programming and what made them successful.
The Future of Programming
The future of virtual and in-person programming was discussed.
Inner Workings
The inner functions and organization of museums and our respective student groups was discussed.
Networking/Professional Development w/in Museums
The future careers and different methods of networking was discussed.
Museums as a Resource
Exploring the role of museums as both an academic and cultural resource for students and the surrounding community was discussed.
Break
2:00–2:30 p.m.
From Galleries to the Grid: Museum Storytelling on Social Media by Karen Vidangos
2:30–3:30 p.m.
A presentation on how museums translated their missions into digital storytelling. Drawing from projects like the Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future, the Met Gala, and the Latinx Art Collective, the session explored how social media could educate, entertain, and build community while amplifying voices often left out of institutional narratives. Attendees gained insight into creating people-first stories that resonated across platforms and lasted beyond the algorithm.
Breakout groups - Session 2
3:30–5:00 p.m.
Communications
This discussion covered communications between the museum and the local community, including social media and other forms of outreach.
Community Engagement
Different methods of engaging the student body and the local community in the museum, as well as different types of programming and what makes them successful, were discussed.
Student Engagement
How to encourage students to get in museums and get more involved in museums was discussed.
Identity and Representation
A focused discussion was held on how identity and representation work within the museum space.
Difficult Histories
The place of museums given their racist and colonial past was discussed.
Dinner
6:00–8:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 16, 2025
Brunch
9:00–11:00 a.m.
Closing Remarks and feedback
Optional guided tour of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Keynote Presenters
Miki Garcia
Miki was appointed Director of the Arizona State University Art Museum in December 2017, where she oversees a 48,000-square-foot museum facility designed by Antoine Predock, that charges no admission. The Museum boasts 15,000 objects and presents a slate of world-class exhibitions, programs, and publications that center art and artists in the service of social good and community wellbeing. She was previously the Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, from 2005 to 2017. Prior to this, she worked at the Public Art Fund in New York from 2001 to 2004. From 1999 to 2001, Garcia was a Curatorial Associate at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and has also worked at the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin and the San Antonio Museum of Art.
In 2022, she was named one of the 48 Most Intriguing Women of Arizona and participated in ASU’s Women in Philanthropy. Originally from the border town of Brownsville, Texas, Garcia holds a BA from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, and an MA from the University of Texas at Austin. She speaks English, Italian, and Spanish and is passionately committed to the transformation of art museums to be more equitable and civically accountable.
Karen Vidangos
Karen is the founder of the Latinx Art Collective, the first nationwide directory dedicated exclusively to Latinx artists across the United States. Known online as “Latina in Museums,” she uses digital platforms to elevate and explore underrepresented perspectives in the arts.
As a social media specialist, she has led high-profile initiatives including the National Portrait Gallery’s Obama Portraits Tour and the 2019 American Portrait Gala, and spearheaded the Smithsonian’s institution-wide initiative Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past. She holds a BA in art history from the University of Maryland and an MA in museum studies from George Washington University.
She is currently the Senior Manager of Social Media at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Student Advisory Committee
- Francine Brown, Advisor
- Betsy Subiros ’25
- Yaksha Gummadapu ’26
- Sara Shephard ’26
- Elia Smith ’26
- Sofia Abrahamson ’27
- Oliver Hollmann ’27
- Lingran Liu ’27
- Harper Jamison ’28
- Sofia Mattos Brito ’28
- Sophie Cosgrove ’29
- Kaeleigh Heath ’29
- Miles Myers ’29
The programs and content presented at The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts do not necessarily represent the opinions of Vassar College or The Vassar Institute.
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