October began about a week ago with clear, sunny skies, a cool breeze and a fresher feeling of nostalgia. Pumpkins are slowly appearing on every other doorstep, and autumnal flavors stock our pantries and cafes. With the new season coming in, and exams swamping students’ schedules, some might look for a place to embrace the changes while finding comfort in the timeless essence of art.
Friday, Oct. 2, the Muscarelle Museum of Art presented an opportunity for Williamsburg residents and students to enjoy seasonal activities, listen to live music and explore the museum’s galleries with their event, First Friday: Fall into Art! This event was part of the museum’s First Friday series, where the Muscarelle offers special evening hours, live music and activities on the first Friday of every month.
Upon entering the Muscarelle on Friday, attendees could hear acoustic guitarist Jocelyn Oldham playing live music. Further inside was an area for Halloween mask-making and pumpkin painting.
Here, two students from the College of William and Mary’s education policy planning leadership master’s program shared their thoughts on the museum and First Friday. Chloe Jones ’25 M.Ed. ’27, acknowledged the Muscarelle’s sometimes underrecognized value on campus
“I feel like I’ve never utilized the Muscarelle as much as I could, and so this seems like something fun to stop by,” Jones said. “I’ve only been here a few times, but I’ve been to a lot of events that are little receptions here, and so I love the little entrance area because it’s so pretty with the glass windows and all that.”
Madison Grace M.Ed. ’28, a first-time visitor to the museum, expressed curiosity about what the Muscarelle had to offer and the nature of the exhibits.
“I’m wondering if it’s an actual art museum; that’s what I’m intrigued about, because I just kind of moved here, so getting to learn about everything in the area is pretty cool,” she said.
Visitors to First Friday were of all ages and demographics: As it turns out, the event was planned to achieve that goal. Each activity, whether it be going on a docent tour, spending quality time with friends painting pumpkins or masks or sitting down to enjoy the live acoustic performances, offered something museum guests young and old could enjoy. According to Muscarelle Director David Brashear, attracting younger visitors to unique events like First Friday can help encourage a lifelong love of museums and art early on.
“When young people come into museums as young people, they’re much more likely to make museums a part of their entire life. And if you never go to a museum when you’re young, you’re much less likely to make museums a part of your life later,” he said. “The bottom line is, let’s get people in the door early and often, and let them have a good time, and make sure they’re not feeling intimidated.”
Brashear further emphasized the need to increase accessibility in art while making museums less intimidating for people who may be interested in visiting. First Friday removes some of these barriers, especially for potential visitors who work during the day, by extending the Muscarelle’s opening hours and mixing things up for attendees.
“We like it to be viewed by students on campus as a night to go do something different. We love the idea of things like date night at the museum or just friends gathering at the museum as they’re letting off some steam from the week,” Brashear said. “But it also is a great time to capture people who are at work all during the week and might have a busy Saturday and Sunday planned.”
Despite working in a museum, Brashear emphasized how art galleries can be intimidating to even their most experienced guests.
“Even I feel somewhat intimidated going into a commercial art gallery in New York,” he said. “Everybody has those feelings of intimidation, and what we want is people just to walk in.”
Terri McNaughton’s role as the Muscarelle’s engagement and events coordinator shapes public, student and campus engagement at the Muscarelle. She shared why First Friday is significant in accomplishing accessibility goals at the Muscarelle.
“I love my job, and I love the fact that First Friday especially allows you to be a little bit creative, finding ways to get people indoors of all ages,” she said. “We’ve got everybody from really little to older folks just really having a good time. That makes my heart sing.”
Art is something that each person at the Muscarelle can speak to the importance of. Engagement events like First Friday are meant to help museum-goers experience that importance, alongside extra perks like fall-inspired refreshments or a date-night escape. Having a real art museum on campus may seem intimidating, especially for those who feel underdressed, uninformed about art or not personally artistically inclined. However, the Muscarelle aims to help the public, and especially students, understand that art is more about visualizing life itself and gaining knowledge about life.
“I feel like the museum is very important to not only expose people to artworks, not just older artworks, but more contemporary artworks as well, and to artists, and to expand that into education, which is part of what the Muscarelle does. It’s not just about sharing artwork; it’s about education,” McNaughton said.
For Muscarelle docent Susan Engelstein, art can be a way for people who would not usually know each other to meet, like during a folk dance event that happened recently at the museum.
“I’m sure that they did the Virginia Reel, and that would have been a fun thing to do, because as corny as it sounds, it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “You get to meet other people accidentally, and that’s the fun part.”
A fair amount of museum volunteers, docents and employees are retirees whose lives did not previously have room to fully explore and embrace art or art museums. To them, the Muscarelle is a place to look at life through a creative, historical or research lens.
“I love the museum. It’s like a second start in life,” Engelstein said. “There is a lot of hard work involved, a lot of research, but it’s research about art, and I love that.”
Although the Muscarelle is located directly inside a college campus, museum staff and students expressed feelings that it is underutilized. For students seeking a unique third space with free admission, quiet study areas, and endless opportunities to gain knowledge about art and meet new friends, it might just be the perfect spot.
