On Friday, January 5th, the Women in Humanities club took a trip to New York City to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Each club member was tasked with researching an artwork featured in the MET and the story behind it. At the MET, everyone got to present the artwork they researched in an exciting celebration of female artists.
Following the presentations, Ryan Whitman ‘24 said, “I really liked hearing everyone’s presentations about the artwork that they chose and why they chose it. I think it was very informative as well as inspiring, and it introduced me to a lot of artists I never would’ve heard of.”
Maddie Brown ‘26 also enjoyed the MET presentations. “We got to see all the works of women in the MET, and by having everyone research an artist, we got to see the impact the artist had and their achievements. I thought that was really cool,” Brown said.
But the fun didn’t end there; after their presentations, the Women in Humanities club enjoyed dinner at the prestigious MET dining room. Maddie Brown ‘26 said her favorite part of the field trip was “the dinner because it was really fun, and we laughed about things, told stories, and the food was really great. It was really nice to hear from everyone.”
Ali Defilipo 25’, the president and creator of the Women in Humanities club was the brains behind the development of this field trip . “Personally, I love the MET museum, and I realized growing up that it was dominated by men because historically that’s whose pieces have been praised, and I thought there’s so many female artists who have been underrepresented, especially in a place like the MET, where there’s such a wide breadth of time periods, nationalities and types of art. So, I thought this would be a great opportunity to learn more about some of the accomplishments of women in the arts field, ” Defilipo said.
This field trip could not have happened without the help of Abby Abbott, faculty advisor for the Women in Humanities club.
“I had a wonderful time, and I’m so thankful for the student leadership because that is what really drives this club. When there is student interest, that really determines the level of activity and where we go and the experiences we have. My favorite thing was listening to the beautiful and well-crafted pieces of analysis that each student gave and the thought and care they put into it. It seemed to me as though people thought really deeply about what works of art they wanted to study and the women artists themselves,” Abbott said.
Overall, the Women in Humanities club field trip to the MET provided an opportunity for club members to honor female artists as well as empower themselves. Students curious about the Women in Humanities club are urged to join because of the unique and creative club activities.
