The Smart Museum of Art
proudly presents 

a series of small gestures

A University of Chicago student engagement program designed and managed by Aaron Wilder

"gesture" #1, January 12, 2021:

Cold Blooded Care 
by Tirtzah Harris, Undergraduate studying English, Class of 2021

a series of small gestures, a student engagement program inspired by the Smart Museum of Art's exhibition Take Care and sponsored by the Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry is now in its 1st week. For each of the ten weeks of the University of Chicago's Winter Quarter 2021, we will be featuring a short video meditating on the theme of care by a University of Chicago student on both the Smart Museum’s Instagram and website.

Week one of a series of small gestures features a video by undergraduate English major Tirtzah Harris, University of Chicago class of 2021, Cold Blooded Care: “Can my turtle love me back? It’s difficult to say—reptiles are not generally known for their love of cuddling or friendly pack behavior. Through sixteen years of ownership, I had built up a bond of trust—something in the mind of my watery friend that associated my face with a rain of dried shrimp. The process was slow and deliberate, as most turtle matters are. And yet, in the matter of two short months, I’ve broken that trust completely. He’s needed daily medicine to cure an infection, and while I am pleased to say he is getting better, he’s started hiding away from me.”

• Instagram post
• Video on Smart Museum of Art's website

About a series of small gestures:

Inspired by the Smart Museum of Art’s exhibition Take Care, the Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry invited University of Chicago students to submit proposals for short videos reflecting on the questions of how we care for ourselves and each other.

Through each of the ten weeks of Winter Quarter 2021, a student’s video reflecting on the theme of care will be “released” on the Smart Museum’s Instagram account. Over the course of the quarter, each of these ten “small gestures” of care will be accumulated on the Smart Museum of Art's website with information about the student and a short description of their project.

Student proposals were reviewed by a panel of jurors comprising the following Smart Museum staff: 

• Nicole Bond, Lead Museum Educator who has created and led educational programs for a variety of audiences with many exhibitions at the Smart Museum, including Take Care; 
• Jennifer Carty, Associate Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art, who co-curated the exhibition Take Care; 
• Berit Ness, Assistant Curator of Academic Initiatives, who co-curated the exhibition Take Care; 
• Erik Peterson, Manager of Family Programs & Student Engagement, who works with University of Chicago students through many co-curricular programs including the Smart Museum’s Student Advisory Committee; 
• and Aaron Wilder, Academic Engagement Coordinator, who works with University of Chicago students through the various internship programs at the Smart Museum as well as through academic programs sponsored by the Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry, such as a series of small gestures.

In addition to the jurors above, this project is heavily indebted to critical contributions made by:

• Aneesah Ettress, Curatorial & Academic Engagement Intern; 
• Issa Lampe, Deputy Director for Academic & Curatorial Affairs and Director of the Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry; 
• C.J. Lind, Associate Director of Communications;
• and Yue “Cherry” Ying, Academic Engagement Undergraduate Research Associate.