Looking back on this semester, one of the most important things I’ve learned is that doing this work is not as intimidating as it might initially seem, even for someone without extensive technical experience. I discovered that, even if I doubted it, I am more or less capable of learning a wide breadth of moderately technical skills, and that patience is essential when approaching new processes. At first, I overwhelmed thinking about all the moving parts in contributing meaningfully as a Vivero Fellow, but I’ve realized that taking things one step at a time makes it manageable—and even rewarding. My advice, to myself or a new fellow generally, would be to trust the ability to learn and adapt, and not to underestimate the value of persistence and curiosity.
On the training model, I found that the structured instructions were clear and logical, even if I don’t generally enjoy reading step-by-step guides—something about them is just inherently somewhat annoying to me, regardless of content. Following them can feel tedious, but understanding the format and reasoning behind them helped me see why they are necessary. The clarity of the instructions allowed me to move through tasks with support, and hands-on practice made stuff stick. What worked best for me was the combination of guidance and active engagement with the tools.
Looking ahead to next semester, my immediate next steps for project work involve obtaining the students’ project materials from Professor Lavan and uploading them to the site. This should be straightforward, though I anticipate some challenges along the way, especially given the limited time between the end of finals and when I leave campus. In the likely event that I do not finish this work entirely this semester, I need to work a schedule out with Professor Lavan. I am somewhat worried about this as I do not want to get behind on my project next semester, but as discussed, it will almost certainly be fine.
In the future, I am interested in exploring digital scholarship methods such as Omeka and digital exhibitions. I am excited by the possibilities of curating and presenting content in a digital format and how this intersects with the art historical discipline, and I hope to continue developing both technical skills and conceptual approaches to digital projects. I am excited, especially, to work on a new project with a new project lead, as I found this to be the most interesting part of the Vivero role.