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By Cassidy Haines, Magazine Editor
At Gettysburg College, almost all of our arts and music programs are housed in Schmucker Hall. Named for the College’s founder, Samuel Simon Schmucker, the building is home to the renowned Sunderman Conservatory of Music as well as the Schmucker Art Gallery, where student curators and international contemporary artists alike can view their work in a formally artistic setting. Although the building itself has been with the College for most of its history, the Art Gallery is a much more recent addition, now popular with both faculty and students to visit for classes or for fun.
Sarah Kate Gillespie, professor of Art History, Public History and Civil War Era Studies, has served as the Interim Director of the Schmucker Art Gallery for two and a half years. She shares, “I decide on the schedule of exhibitions, and then oversee all aspects of getting those exhibitions planned and into the space, which usually takes one to three years. Much of what I oversee is the work done by student curators and researchers. We use the gallery as a hands-on learning experience for all aspects of museum work.”
As an example of Gillespie’s work, the main gallery showcase for the current fall semester has been curated by students with her assistance. On display from Sept. 3 to Dec. 6, the Art Gallery’s main exhibition is titled “Footprints Across the Ocean: The Art of Gan Yu” and features the work of Chinese-American artist Gan Yu, known for his visual interpretations of global economic and societal issues. Student researchers Westley Rathbun `27 and Md Nafisul Hasan Sami `27 worked together to create the presentation.
Westley Rathbun ’27 presenting on his exhibition “Footprints Across the Ocean”. (Photo William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
Professor Gillespie adds, “I always love seeing the students’ hard work come to fruition. It’s very satisfying, both for me and for them, to see the work on the walls next to the labels they write.”
These days, the Schmucker Art Gallery is student-centered and especially interactive with the artistic departments, but in the past, it turns out the gallery space used to be our campus library. Gillespie reached out to College Archivist Amy Lucadamo to collaborate, and she shares, “The first mention of the gallery in its current space that [Lucadamo] has found is from the March 15, 1982 issue of The Gettysburgian, which discusses ‘Schmucker Memorial Hall, Gettysburg’s New Fine Arts Center.’ The article mentions the gallery specifically, with the same brass doors and marble columns we currently have. The library had previously been housed in Schmucker.”
Imagining the space within Schmucker as a library might feel impossible, with Musselman Library as such an integral part of our campus. Rather than bookcases and desks, Schmucker Art Gallery now hosts eight to ten visual exhibitions each year. Nonetheless, the College’s changing layout and revamping of classic buildings over its history reveals a campus not so far off from today’s: even though some buildings or departments might move around, Gettysburg makes sure to fill empty spaces with something new.
If you are interested in being involved with the Schmucker Art Gallery, Professor Gillespie recommends applying for one of the many on-site jobs available in the Gallery on Handshake, including front desk attendants who open or close the area and keep watch of the art on display. Schmucker Art Gallery likewise offers an internship with applications open in the fall, called the Biernat Internship, which gives students the chance to curate and research their own exhibition during the spring, then open it in the gallery the following fall. Finally, the Art History department offers ARTH 214, Methods of Art History, which leads to the class curating an exhibition together.
“We are often looking for student researchers in departments other than Art and Art History to give interdisciplinary perspectives on the exhibitions, and we often need students to help with social media and photography for events,” says Professor Gillespie. “Keep an eye on Handshake, and come to the openings and other events to say hi!”
Student curators presenting to an audience during a past exhibit. (Photo William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
This article originally appeared on pages 14-15 of the October 2025 edition of The Gettysburgian’s magazine.
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