A group of Storm King School students participated in a two-day Museum Studies Workshop at Magazzino Italian Art recently, developed by the museum’s Director of Research & Education, Nicola Lucchi, and SKS Visual Arts Department Chair John Carruthers. Together, they created an immersive program that gave students a look into the professional world of running a contemporary art museum. The collaboration was made possible by Storm King Trustee Richard Grossman ’79, whose annual support enriches the School’s art-related programming.

Students who participated included Jiann L. ’26, Sam L. ’26, and Ryder H. ’26, who attended both days; Faisal A. ’26, Ren T. ’26, Owen G. ’28, and Jerry C. ’26, who participated on Friday; and Jaewon K. ’27, who joined on Saturday.

The workshop opened with a tour of Magazzino’s permanent collection led by Chief Docent Greg Slick, who encouraged students to consider how museums communicate complex artistic movements. “We learned about nonprofit sustainability and how museums generate income,” Jiann reflected. “One activity had us paraphrase artwork descriptions for a child, which was a great way to think about communicating art. Meeting the architect and building a model of a gallery room was especially memorable.”

Architect Miguel Quismondo, AIA, then guided students through the design of the museum building itself, highlighting materials, lighting, and spatial flow. Behind the scenes, Thomas Huber, Head Preparator and Art Handler, explained the careful planning required to conserve, store, and install artworks. Students applied these lessons by designing their own scale-model exhibitions, considering visitor pathways, lighting, and spatial storytelling.

The following morning in Magazzino’s Research Library, students were introduced to museum operations and nonprofit governance, using real financial documents to examine budgeting, fundraising, and sustainability. Jaewon noted, “I learned how the museum operates, how the board appoints the director, and how nonprofit finances are managed. Looking up Form 990s showed me the full financial picture.”

Students were also guided through curatorial planning, and Store Manager Marie-Louise Petitpierre demonstrated how branding, merchandising, and licensing reinforce a museum’s mission. “The ‘make your own nonprofit’ workshop gave me a clear sense of how nonprofit logistics work,” shared Sam. “I even applied it to creating a nonprofit for my SKS Tea Club.”

The workshop concluded with student presentations of their own museum or nonprofit concepts, including missions, budgets, branding plans, and inaugural exhibitions. For Mr. Carruthers, the workshop was a “big hit, and an amazing experience for our students. Engaging directly with museum professionals and hands-on projects gave students insight into the diverse careers that support the cultural sector—opportunities many had never considered. It was real professional development,” he commented.

The Storm King School extends its gratitude to Ms. Lucchi and the Magazzino Italian Art team for their generosity and expertise, and a special thank you to Mr. Grossman for making the workshop possible.