Sophisticated visual analysis is a hallmark of art history and depends on skills acquired through the direct study of objects. These skills must be taught and practiced. Yet as graduate art history curricula have expanded to include training in methodology, historiography, and theory, training in object study has all but disappeared. The problem is exacerbated for students of Chinese art history, whose graduate curricula must also include language courses and related subjects such as religion, literature, and history.

Chinese Object Study Workshops is a pilot program that will provide graduate students in Chinese art history an immersive experience in the study of objects—in particular, those belonging to the great collections of Chinese art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA), the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Freer|Sackler). The workshops will help students develop the skills necessary for working with objects, introduce them to conservation issues not readily encountered in typical graduate art history curricula, and familiarize them with important American museum collections. The project is funded through a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The first workshop will take place in January 2013 at the Freer|Sackler, and the second in May/June 2013 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Exact dates will depend on relevant academic calendars.) 2014 workshops will be held at the Nelson-Atkins and the Freer|Sackler.

Each workshop will be led by two art history faculty members, in collaboration with the museum curator where the workshop will be held (Stephen Allee in the case of the F|S, Maxwell Hearn at the MMA, and Colin Mackenzie at the Nelson-Atkins).

We are seeking workshop proposals from art historians who teach Chinese art history, have extensive experience of working directly with objects, and would welcome the chance to mentor a group of graduate students as they study a world class collection. Faculty leaders will plan the workshop curriculum and associated reading, and will create a weeklong program of object study in collaboration with the curator.

For detailed information about the workshops, the role of the faculty leaders and proposal requirements, see http://www.asia.si.edu/research/workshops/chinese-object-study.asp. If you would like additional information about the program, please feel free to contact any member of the project steering committee (contact information is provided on the website.)

Proposals for the January and May 2013 workshops are due on October 15.