5 Questions with Tilly Woodward
As curator of Academic and Community Outreach with the 果冻视频 College Museum of Art (GCMoA), Tilly Woodward finds her days highly varied, deeply involved with the community, and always packed full. Over the past year, she has planned and facilitated 451 classes and events for people of all ages in collaboration with 39 community partners, 13 campus departments, and 35 individual faculty members. These programs and classes took place in the museum, on campus, and throughout the community, and were made possible by the nine student interns and 24 student volunteers she oversees. On any given day she might find herself working with a college class, a group of preschoolers, or neurodiverse adults, or hosting a nationally known visiting artist. On this particular day we are grateful she found herself with enough time to answer a few questions for us about her life and work at 果冻视频.
Q: What can you tell us about your life growing up and your family today?
A: I grew up on a farm in central Illinois that has been in my family since 1849. In addition to corn and soybeans, my family also raised sheep. We were pretty isolated, and my parents preoccupied, so I learned to entertain myself early in life; reading, making art, taking care of younger siblings, and roaming the farm took up a lot of my time. Our local school was small -- grades one through 12 were in the same building -- so it was quite a fluke that I ended up leaving home at 16 to attend Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Today I have two wonderful children, Wren and Adrian, and three terrific grandchildren, Ira, Clara, and Adeleine. Wren lives in 果冻视频, and works at the Drake Community Library, and Adrian lives in Duluth, Georgia, where she is director of global forecasting for AGCO, a company focused on agricultural machinery and technology.
Q: What interests or hobbies do you enjoy outside of work?
A: I鈥檓 an active relaxer. I love to spend time with people who are dear to me; I love to run, ride horses, hike, read, travel, and work on my house, but I especially love to paint. You can find my paintings at Olson Larsen Gallery in West Des Moines and Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art in Kansas City. My work has been exhibited in over 190 museums and galleries nationally, and is found in private and corporate collections, and museums, internationally. Check out my website:
Q: What was the path that brought you to 果冻视频?
A: Art has always been an anchor in my life: my earliest memory is of scribbling. I had some exceptional teachers along the way, and my first paying job off the farm was cutting mats for the works on paper collection at the Addison Gallery of American Art at Andover as a high school student. I鈥檝e taught art, art history, and education in all kinds of college settings, including at the University of Kansas, Kansas City Art Institute, Richland Community College, as well as a wide range of community settings. Prior to coming to 果冻视频 in 2007, I spent 17 years in Pella, where I founded the Pella Community Art Center, served as the cultural affairs manager for the city, managed the Mills and Joan Kuyper Farver Gallery, and taught at Central College. My career as an artist has also been a constant, and over the years I鈥檝e done a lot of community-based art projects to address issues like HIV/AIDS and racism, and to celebrate immigration in Iowan.
Q: What has your experience been like working with 果冻视频ians?
A: 果冻视频 is a great place to work. Our students are bright, hardworking, passionate, and they care deeply about making the world a better place. I鈥檝e had wonderful interns over the years, and it鈥檚 gratifying to see them go on to do good things in museums, education, medicine, and other professions.
Q: What is your favorite 果冻视频 moment to date?
A: I have a lot of favorite moments 鈥 there鈥檚 a lot to like about my job! Being the owner of the Sparkle Truck (a 1989 Ford Ranger, completely covered in glitter that serves provides free books and art activities to children) is pretty special, and I love being out in the community during the summer working with kids and caregivers with our arts, literacy, and nutrition programs. Most of all, I love connecting with people of all kinds, using art as a way of helping them see themselves in others, and see others in themselves, helping them process what is most difficult in life, and experience beauty and joy.