Assistant Teaching Professor Loretta Park may be new to Simmons this semester, but she already wears many hats. Along with being the new Director of the Trustman Art Gallery, she teaches both art and art administration classes.
While many higher education classes are rigid and test-focused, Park brings experience-based learning to her classroom. Specifically in her Boston Arts in Action course, she encourages students to learn through exploration and connection with professionals in the Boston area.
“I enjoy the experimental and playful nature of creating art, and how risk-taking is allowed and part of the process,” Park said. She added, “In certain disciplines, that could be detrimental.”
Prior to college, Park wanted to be a pre-med student. She discovered the art field through her freshman year art course.
Park, however, didn’t admit that she wanted to pursue art as a career until her second year of college. She realized that, despite the uncertainty, this was the path for her. She described it as “primal instinct.”
Later in her career, Park decided that she wanted to teach. She began her career as a professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2016.
Park sees teaching and art as one practice. “Creating informs the way I teach, and teaching informs the way I create,” Park reflected. She further expanded on her teaching philosophies, saying “education is more interesting and enriching when more people can kind of talk about their own experiences.”
While she had always known of Simmons as a leading women’s-centered institution, she was officially introduced to the university when invited to give a talk in 2023 for an arts administration capstone presentation event – a major that intrigued Park.
“It was a very interesting and exciting way to connect art making and curating,” Park said.
Many students may be unaware that, before she became the director of the Trustman Art Gallery, Park was actually a featured artist there! Her art practice consists of mixed media, utilizing her various skill sets in her classes. When she came in as an artist, she was very excited about the art gallery’s uniqueness.
“I think about it as a space that is unique and interesting, but also challenging,” Park said, referring to the high ceilings and hallway-type setting. “How do you activate the space when it is a traditional white cube, all white, there are no doors to different places, and one or two entrances?”
This kind of challenge ignites Park’s experimental side as she installs different exhibits in the space. When she’s approaching an artist, she asks, “Are you an artist that could actually activate the space, and can you relate your practice to the Simmons student population?”
Mostly, like her classes, she just wants the Trustman Art Gallery space to be a place for student exploration and community building.
During her first semester at Simmons, Park taught Boston Arts in Action and Color Studio. Next semester, she will be teaching Draw What You See and Sculpture, and will continue to work with the gallery on collection and mentor the student gallery assistants.
“I like that there are so many ways I get to engage the community,” Park said, “and that I get to teach so many different classes.”
