It’s typical for a museum to open two exhibits at the same time. However, very few unintentionally share a common theme, and even fewer pay homage to the people and history of Ohio.
On Jan. 27, the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum (RCCAM) at Miami University opened two new exhibitions: “Rooted Here” and “Culture Crops.” Two days later, Jan. 29, the museum held an open house, allowing members and art lovers alike to see this year’s spring exhibitions.
“Rooted Here” showcased the work of artists whose networks and art can be traced back to the Miami and Oxford area. What makes the exhibit unique is that it was entirely curated by art history seniors as their capstone project. Celia Powers, a senior art history and physics double major, said she spent many hours curating and working with her peers to make the exhibition perfect.
“A different professor will be in charge of [the capstone] every year, and they kind of get to choose the theme,” Powers said. “Then, all of the students work together until you kind of refine and curate it, pick all the pieces. We write all the labels, the text panels ... We get to handpick this ephemeral stuff from the archives that we have in our library.”
Powers researched two pieces for the exhibition — John Stewart Curry’s “Our Good Earth” and Philip Morsberger’s “Assassination.” Many of her fellow classmates worked on two to three works, and eventually came together to decide how everything should be laid out.
While the students did the work and decided where every piece went, they were not totally on their own. Associate professor of art history Annie Dell’Aria said she began brainstorming different themes over the summer of 2025, before the capstone class started in the fall semester. While scouring through the museum’s archives, Dell’Aria found out that many well-renowned artists like Nancy Holt, Paul Cadmus and Bill Brand had visited and created artworks inspired by Miami. This sparked questions that Dell’Aria was eager to dive into.
“What does it mean to depict this place?” she said. “Because there’s a kind of central contradiction with avant-garde and Southwest Ohio. But, this shows you how maybe that’s not a contradiction, right?”
After deciding on a general topic, the professor working on the capstone and the museum set aside around 100 pieces that fit the theme. From there, classes begin and the students work with the guidance of the professor and those with the museum, most notably the Interim Director and Curator Jason Shaiman.
“I guide them on the museum side,” Shaiman said. “I teach the students the curatorial practice and how to develop an exhibition … [and how to] think about ways they can interpret it [in a way] that addresses the visitor experience.”
This hasn’t been the way the art history capstone has always operated. This is the museum’s 15th anniversary of working with art history students, and in many ways, it is a unique experience.
Many art history programs around the nation do not offer this kind of professional experience to their students. While the capstone is technically a class, it functions more like a professional meeting, where colleagues at a museum come together to create a concise, well-researched exhibition.
Lauren Jaime, a senior art history and arts management double major, said she could see herself taking what she learned from the course and applying it to her future career.
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
“I had an internship [at the museum] my junior year [in the] spring semester,” Jaime said. “So I had a little bit of background on how it worked, but I did not get to help design anything, so this was a really unique experience to have.”
Powers agreed with this statement.
“Most art history programs in the nation don’t get to do this,” Powers said. “Like this is really, really special for anybody interested in art or going in like to work in a museum. It’s just so unique and beneficial.”
Beyond the work curated by Miami students, the museum introduced “Culture Crops”: a new photo-based exhibition centered on the people of Ohio and their connection to the food they personally grow and produce. It was funded and created in celebration of America 250 – Ohio.
All of the work in the exhibition was photographed by Tina Gutierrez, a Cincinnati-based fine arts photographer. Throughout most of the creative process, Gutierrez worked alongside Shaiman, as well as Alan Wight, a food historian and professor at the University of Cincinnati, and Asa Featherstone, who filmed video interviews of the people Gutierrez photographed.
Gutierrez and Shaiman worked together to develop the story and message they wanted to convey through the photos.
“We were looking for ideas that highlighted through the Ohio 250 grant,” Gutierrez said. “Really, it needed to celebrate Ohio and Ohioans. I’m the daughter of a Cuban refugee and an Appalachian coal miner, and so I really wanted to celebrate a diversity of people.”
Shaiman shared a similar understanding as the project began to take shape.
“It really became very much about the people and about the food and looking at identity, looking at culture, looking at tradition, family, history, and it all just came together,” Shaiman said. “It’s looking at these stories of people coming and holding on to those traditions.”
Many of the people photographed attended the exhibition’s grand opening and wandered from frame to frame, taking in the photos and recognizing the connections they all share with different people across Ohio.
“You know, it’s interesting how I think in some ways, we don’t always have our exhibitions that have a connection, but these two really do,” Shaiman said. “In the fact that 'Rooted Here,’ it does situate a geographical reference, and so does ‘Culture Crops’ ... I think that’s a really interesting connection that didn’t initially come up ... They just evolved that way.”
These exhibitions will be open throughout the Spring 2026 Exhibition season, which ends on June 13. The RCCAM is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. On Feb. 11 at 5 p.m., Dell’Aria will be holding a reception and talk for “Rooted Here.”
Read More
Bookworm Review: Reads to start off the New Year
By Shannon Mahoney | YesterdayIf, like me, you get a spontaneous burst of energy following the New Year that inspires you to reorganize your entire bookshelf and set an impossibly large reading goal for yourself, congratulations! You’ve come to the right place. Here are a few of my favorite reads from break to help get your reading goals off to a strong start.
‘Death in the Business of Whaling’: A symbolic, existential album
By Ren Chaffee | 2 days agoSearows, otherwise known as Alec Duckart, recently released the album “Death in the Business of Whaling” on Jan. 23.Searows’ has an intimate and folk-style of music. His music is melancholic while still carrying a soothing ability. Searows is the type of musician you listen to during times of high-stress for relatability and comfort. His music is perfect for late nights.
Miami weighs options to address flights in 2040 carbon neutrality commitment
By Sarah Kennel | 2 days agoFlights for conferences, studying abroad and more are a cherished part of the Miami experience for students and faculty alike. How will Miami address flight emissions in their commitment to become carbon neutral?