MARCIA HUNT
Special to The Leader
Do you ever wonder what careers are waiting for you after leaving Fredonia?
SUNY Fredonia alumna, Alyssa Morasco, came back to her alma mater on March 5 to give a lecture on museum career paths.
The presentation, which included exclusive photos from her various museum jobs, went into detail about the many possible career paths for art majors and her post-graduation experiences.
She opened her lecture by playing the music video for Beyoncè and Jay Z’s “APES**T,” which features the two artists singing in front of world-renowned artwork in the Louvre museum.
Morasco, who has held top positions in well-respected museums, takes her audience behind the scenes of the typical art museum, not only giving them a better appreciation for museums, but also showing them the opportunities that exist in the art world.
Morasco went into detail describing the lesser-known museum jobs: registration, conservation, art preparation, installation, collection information and her area of expertise, collections management.
After breaking down the requirements of each job, the bulk of Morasco’s lecture was about her personal journey navigating the art world and advice for the audience hoping to pursue a career in the art world.
Her first museum job was being on an all-female art preparation team at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo.
After working in California, she worked her way up to the head of collections management at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Now, she is the director of Collections Management at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is a start-up museum that is not yet open to the public, founded by George Lucas.
Understandably, Morasco found herself at a loss for words when asked about the opportunity.
“George Lucas is my boss … it’s kind of insane,” she said.
Morasco graduated from Fredonia in 2006 with a degree in art history.
This was the first time she had been on campus since her graduation, which she described as “surreal.”
She was compelled to come to lecture at Fredonia after recalling how greatly the school and art department fostered her learning.
“In general, I felt very supported in Fredonia, so it definitely built my confidence … It definitely plugged me into the community of artists,” she said.
Despite feeling like she graduated with the proper knowledge of the arts, Morasco recalled feeling unsure about her professional future upon graduating from college. She wanted to share what she’s learned with students who find themselves in similar shoes.
Morasco has some advice for young artists. One of them is, “To take every opportunity to get experience in all different areas of museum life.”
In fact, Morasco’s completion of the Fredonia Gallery practicum course was one of the main things that Albright-Knox took into consideration when hiring her.
“You can still be a successful artist and have a day job. You are also still successful if you have a contract job,” was another piece of advice.
“Success is in your mindset. It’s not feeling like a failure. Enjoy what you’re doing and keep making your art. Real-world experience usually trumps anything else.”