“I was interested in finding out how a nonprofit stays alive in this economic climate. The people at the Hyde Park Art Center were always willing to help and guide me into new experiences.”

—Mary Schmitt, graduate student in the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities

Mary Schmitt at the Hyde Park Art Center. (Photo by Lloyd DeGrane)

Mary Schmitt found her intellectual passion here at the University of Chicago: cinema and its power of representation.

But she also found another passion through an internship at the Hyde Park Art Center, where she was able to connect her analytical skills with real-life applications.

Schmitt is completing a degree in the University’s Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH), wrapping up her thesis on Will Smith and his movie The Pursuit of Happyness. She’s excited to report that her paper has been accepted by the Minority Graduate Student Association for presentation at a conference.

When she first came to the University, Schmitt wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her interests in cultural studies and visual theory. But MAPH allowed her to explore: She designed her own course of study, which evolved organically until she arrived at her thesis and a particular interest in the way in which race is represented on the movie screen.

“My studies here have helped me realize that film is an essential place for my interests,” says Schmitt. “If I ever want to make an intervention in the world of film, it will be about race and visual representation. I believe we need to keep race as a significant topic of discussion, rather than trying to silence the conversation through ideas of postracialism and color-blind logics. Those ideas suggest we have moved beyond race or that race is something historically placed in the past and no longer exist—beliefs that ultimately stultify our ability to work through the past and continuing injustices that underlie our history and shape our future.”

Degree + Life Experience = A Future

While exploring the heady world of art and culture, Schmitt found a way to get away from the books and into the real world of art and nonprofit management while enhancing her skills. She discovered a great internship opportunity through the University’s student employment website. “I had worked as a server for eight years in a restaurant in downtown Chicago,” Schmitt says. “I wanted to enter into a different industry and learn new skills.”

At the Hyde Park Art Center, every day involved new tasks.

“On a technical level, I learned how to work their donation database. I was in charge of donations and donor relations. I wrote thank-you letters and sent out correspondence about upcoming events,” she says.

She even put her years of restaurant experience to work by heading up the contributions of wine for a major art center fundraising event.

“On the marketing side, I was interested in finding out how a nonprofit stays alive in this economic climate,” Schmitt says. “The people at the Hyde Park Art Center are friendly and open. If I wanted to get more involved in a project, I could do that. They were always willing to help and guide me into new experiences.”

Not Just Another Pretty Face

One of her most successful moments was participating from start to finish in the third phase of the commissioning project Not Just Another Pretty Face, an unveiling of new patron-supported works by more than 70 Chicago artists.

“We did the premarketing, sent out invitations—and then the art came,” says Schmitt. “I helped hang it and assisted the exhibition designers. I helped unveil the art at the opening, and I even helped pack up the art to send it back to the artist.”

A Window for Ideas

Working at the art center helped Schmitt see how people and art come together: an important insight for her academic work as well as her next career steps.

“I find that art is a window and a vehicle for human ideas and experiences,” says Schmitt. “I see the art community as a forum that can communicate and foster space to work out questions we have about ourselves and the society that shapes us.”