Dana Randall ’21 always loved writing and the arts. But she hadn’t combined those passions until working at the Denison Museum as a collections and exhibitions intern.
The museum, which hosts a wide variety of art collections, was hosting an exhibition for Native American artist and photographer, Will Wilson. It was the first time Randall got to work with a living artist.
“I got to work putting together or helping him with his photography workshops, and I also got to write an article about the exhibition,” Randall said. “That was the first time I had really gotten to blend my love for art with writing.”
She believes this was the “turning point” for her future career. Over the next three months with the museum, she developed a passion for supporting artists through writing and by supporting their exhibitions.
“That changed the whole trajectory of my career post-grad,” Randall said.
Randall graduated from Denison with a degree in history with a concentration in narrative journalism. Now, she works with other living artists as the Communications and Alumni Relations Manager communications and alumni relations manager for the Chicago Artists Arts Coalition (CAC). CAC is a non-profit that supports emerging artists through residency programs, exhibitions, and professional development.
Randall joined CAC as a special projects and event intern. She began working as the communications manager in October 2022 and eventually was promoted to alumni manager as well. Her daily responsibilities include writing in various capacities, supporting exhibitions, and general communication with artists and alumni. She has helped artists “actualize visions that they have” for their work.
“You get a sense of gratification from that, because you see how it impacts their lives and their work,” Randall said.
CAC aims to support a variety of artists despite their background and doesn’t classify a beginning or emerging artist based on whether or not they just graduated from art school. Currently, the coalition hosts 15 artists and five curatorial residents at a time. Curators are paired with artists to help figure out logistics for exhibitions and eventually help write exhibition texts. Randall said this partnership is beneficial in many ways.
“It gives them a much greater understanding of how to put together an exhibition from start to finish, but also how to get the word about [their] work out there,” Randall said.
Randall writes in some capacity almost every day, whether for fundraising appeals, upcoming exhibition previews, or newsletters. She also helps manage resources for artists.
“We have one of the largest art center job boards in the city, and that’s one of the things that I help monitor for us,” Randall said. “It gets close to 2 million views a year.” She said many of the artists are parents or teachers who need other means to supplement their work.
“I don’t think enough people look at art like a business,” Randall said. “You go to art school and you’re taught to make art. But not often enough about how scalable your work is, or how much you would need to sell to actually be able to make rent after you graduate. There are so many artists that have second and third jobs, because they’re not able to sustain themselves just by making art.”
Randall said that she has come to admire the commitment her artists make to art.
“I think you have to be incredibly brave to be an artist,” Randall said. “You literally have to think, ‘I cannot do anything else besides this,’ because it is so, so hard to sustain yourself.”
An artist’s ability to exhibit their work is important.
“If you’re not able to show your work, who’s going to see it?” Randall said. “I think places like the Denison Museum and CAC are… unapologetic celebrators, that is, we like to celebrate the achievements and the accomplishments of all of our residents, past and present. I think organizations like ours really help to uplift people.”
Her job requires her to fill a lot of different shoes, and she prefers it that way.
“I like to be able to not just sit down at a desk and do the same thing for eight hours a day,” Randall said. “I like being able to talk to the artists, planning events, writing and promoting… It gives me a variety of jobs to do, but all centered around art.”
She also enjoys getting to work with the artists she supports.
“I enjoy the interfacing with my co-workers and artists on a daily basis, ” Randall said. “It’s nice to see people I don’t know who have such vibrant lives.”
Randall’s passion for the arts and writing grew through many experiences she had at Denison. Besides the Denison Museum internship, Randall took a job boot camp with the Knowlton Center for Career Exploration, which helped “marry her interests with the arts and in the non-profit sector.” She also worked as an editorial intern for The Columbus Dispatch.
“Internships in college are essential to helping you determine what path you want to take and the steps you want to take to get there,” Randall said. “I think one of the best pieces of advice I got was to always get a job before you go to grad school right after college, because you want to make sure that what you’re going for is actually what you want to go for.”
Since taking on her current position, Randall said that she has used many skills that she learned at the Denison Museum.
“I think working at the museum really helped me hone in some of those soft skills like talking to people,” Randall said. “Leading tours with people I had never met before about art that I had just learned about a week ago can be very stressful, but it’s also a good way to build a lot of the skills you need for the rest of your life and career, which I use a lot right now.”
Throughout her education, she built research skills that have helped her better understand her artists’ work. In addition to her job with CAC, Randall also does a bit of freelance communication for another organization for one of her coworkers, who values her research skills.
Randall said her professors taught her the importance of enjoying your work. “Professors at Denison teach you to care about whatever it is you’re doing, and if you care, the work becomes easier,” Randall said. “If you don’t care, maybe you need to reevaluate what you’re doing.”
In her current position, she emphasizes that she does care deeply about her work.
“I think in today’s society, it’s really easy to get apathetic about a lot of things and just struggle to care sometimes,” Randall said. “The one thing about art is that it’s constantly reminding you why you should care. I think that’s a very important thing.”
If she were to go back in time, Randall says she “never would have guessed where I would be.”
“If you asked me about my senior year, I would be very pleasantly surprised,” Randall said. “I think I’m proud of where I’ve ended up at this point, from an internship to then landing a position, and then to promotion since then. I’m just really enjoying where I’m at.”
