By Melea Maglalang and Jenna Reisgen
As it re-opens, UC Santa Barbara’s Art, Design & Architecture Museum welcomes new director Gabriel Ritter.
Located near UC Santa Barbara’s signature monument Storke Tower, the university’s Art, Design & Architecture (AD&A) Museum has reopened its doors to the public after 19 months of pandemic, welcoming Gabriel Ritter as its new director.
Ritter received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in art history from UC Los Angeles and was a curator of contemporary art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Dallas Museum of Art before arriving at UCSB. He also holds a joining position as associate professor in the History of Art and Architecture Department.
In a recent interview, Ritter discussed his new role, his goals for AD&A and the value this museum has to offer for students.
Q: What are your responsibilities as director of the AD&A Museum?
A: My responsibilities are overseeing the building, the collection and the staff. In the short term, my role is to start to create a cohesive mission and a vision for the museum going forward and refocusing the museum to serve what I think is the most important audience, which is the student body.
Q: What in particular drew you to working for UCSB?
A: What interests me about UCSB, in particular, and also shifting from large, collecting institutions to the university museum setting, is the potential and the promise of the institution.
The idea that I could come to an institution like UCSB and be a faculty member, and also run the museum, drew me here. I can essentially steward the museum, but also work with students and faculty to also question, “What is a museum? Who does a museum exist for? Who does it serve?”
At a research university with so much amazing academic and intellectual talent at your fingertips, how could we use UCSB and the museum to imagine what could be a new museum and next steps for the field?
Q: What do you plan to contribute in the future for the museum?
A: I'm really interested in starting to branch out and reach out to student groups on campus, start to listen and ask how the museum can be more of an active partner. Then, go outside to community members in Goleta and in Santa Barbara, and see how the museum can also be more of an asset to them as well.
Q: How do you think the museum can be a valuable resource for students?
A: [One way is making] careers within the museum transparent and accessible to students, helping students who are interested in jobs at the museum, getting them in touch with other museum professionals — curators, art handlers, registrars, and fundraising. There are so many different positions within a museum that I think often go unnoticed by the public.
Also, the more that we can make the collection accessible, whether it's through teaming up with faculty, or having our upcoming exhibitions really tie in with courses or curriculum.
It would be interesting to put out there, “What can the museum do for students? What do students want or need out of the museum?” I'd be really interested to hear ways that the museum can be more not only accessible, but I mean, there's no reason why it can’t also be fun.
Jenna Reisgen is a third-year Communication major at UC Santa Barbara. Melea Maglalang is a third-year Linguistics major at UC Santa Barbara. They co-wrote this article for their Writing Program class, Digital Journalism.