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NIU earns more Illinois Association of Museums accolades

November 3, 2014
Alison Bastian. Photo credit: Catherine Raymond

Alison Bastian. Photo credit: Catherine Raymond

NIU’s Interdisciplinary Certificate of Graduate Study in Museum Studies continues to receive critical acclaim from the Illinois Association of Museums (IAM).

During the organization’s 2014 Annual Conference, the NIU Art Museum received an IAM Award of Merit in the Best Practices-Exhibitions category for Looting, Hoarding, Collecting: Museums and Repatriation.”

It is the seventh consecutive year that the Museum Studies/NIU Art Museum exhibition has earned an IAM Award.

Looting, Hoarding, Collecting” was the eighth in an ongoing annual collaborative effort between the NIU Art Museum, the NIU Museum Studies Program and Peter Van Ael’s ART 656 Museum Exhibitions and Interpretation class. The awards committee commented on the importance of the topic and variety of accompanying programming.

The exhibition is currently available for travel.

This year marks the third year the association has honored a Museum Studies graduate student with the Student of the Year Award; all three of those years, the recognition went to an NIU student.

Alison Bastian, a 2014 museum studies and MA art history alumna, joins 2013 winner Ashlee Craig (2013 Museum Studies and MA anthropology alumna) and 2012 recipient Agnes Ma (2012 Museum Studies and 2014 MFA metals alumna). Craig is the museum supervisor at the Downers Grove Park District Museum; Ma currently serves as curatorial assistant at the Ellwood House Museum in DeKalb.

Bastian was unable to accept the award in person because she just started her new position as collections assistant at the Field Museum. NIU professor Catherine Raymond accepted on her Bastian’s behalf.

The awards were presented during the awards dinner at the annual IAM Conference, which took place from Oct. 22 to Oct. 24 in Rockford.

From left: Peter Van Ael, Museum Studies coordinator and 656 instructor; Tiffany Arnold, MA anthropology and Museum Studies student; Mari Oates, NIU Museum Studies student-at-large; Allison Sutton, NIU Museum Studies student-at-large; and Timothy McMillan, MA anthropology and Museum Studies student.<br>Photo credit: Bob Banke, NIU Media Services

From left: Peter Van Ael, Museum Studies coordinator and 656 instructor; Tiffany Arnold, MA anthropology and Museum Studies student; Mari Oates, NIU Museum Studies student-at-large; Allison Sutton, NIU Museum Studies student-at-large; and Timothy McMillan, MA anthropology and Museum Studies student.
Photo credit: Bob Banke, NIU Media Services

From left: Peter Van Ael, Museum Studies coordinator and 656 Instructor; Jo Burke, director NIU Art Museum; <br /> Mari Oates, NIU Museum Studies student-at-large; Peter Olson, assistant director NIU Art Museum;<br /> and Kate Schureman, IAM Awards Committee. Photo credit: Mieke Zuiderweg for IAM

From left: Peter Van Ael, Museum Studies coordinator and 656 Instructor; Jo Burke, director NIU Art Museum;
Mari Oates, NIU Museum Studies student-at-large; Peter Olson, assistant director NIU Art Museum;
and Kate Schureman, IAM Awards Committee. Photo credit: Mieke Zuiderweg for IAM