OAKLAND, CA.- Mills College Art Museum announced the acquisition of 14 works of art by contemporary artists associated with NIAD Art Center in Richmond, California: Heather Hamann, Shana Harper, Serena Scott, and Jonathan Velazquez. These additions to MCAM’s collection are part of a newly launched student acquisition project to identity, research, and justify specific artworks that help diversify the museum's permanent collection.

Mills students identify specific works to propose for acquisition to the permanent collection, research the works, and present proposals justifying their choices to the class and a small collections committee of faculty and museum staff. MCAM Director Stephanie Hanor explains, “This acquisition project allows students to really understand how art museum collections are built, and the opportunities and responsibilities that come with being a museum curator. Students are given the agency to help diversify the collection, while at the same time directly supporting our local ecosystem of artists and arts institutions.” Proposed artworks must be prints, sourced from a list of MCAM approved galleries, and align with MCAM’s priority of diversifying its collection and supporting work by BIPOC, LGTBQ, and women artists.

Of the project, Amanda Eicher, Executive Director of NIAD Art Center says, “NIAD is thrilled to be a part of this innovative collecting initiative at Mills, and we look forward to building the connection with these emerging art historians. The Art Marketing program at NIAD invites dozens of new curatorial voices to work with our archive each year. The initiative at Mills means we get to meet students as they are just building their careers, and Mills College audiences get to meet emerging voices in NIAD’s studio as these works are exhibited. Truly, the art world wins when we partner in these exciting ways."

Several of the newly acquired works by Hamann, Harper, Scott, and Velazquez will also be featured in MCAM’s upcoming exhibition, Unseen: The Hidden Labor of Women curated by Museum Studies Workshop students, Olivia Olson-Roberts, Susan Prier, Mollie Schottstaedt, and Jenny Varner, and opening on January 22, 2022.