The Georgia Museum of Art is pleased to welcome Ashlyn Davis as the new Pierre Daura Curatorial Research Assistant. Although new to the curatorial staff, Davis is not unfamiliar with the museum, as she previously held the graduate intern position. She first became acquainted with the museum through a class project done in her junior year of undergraduate studies at the University of Georgia. The project, part of a journalism class, followed the installation of an exhibition focusing on Pierre Daura’s wife, Louise Blair Daura.
Davis graduated from UGA with a degree in journalism and a minor in art history before going on to get her master’s. She received her master’s in art history from UGA in December 2020, after which she worked part-time jobs before applying to her current position.
The chance to work again with Nelda Damiano, the Pierre Daura Curator of European Art, appealed to Davis. She previously worked with Damiano during her graduate internship and was excited by the opportunity to continue working with Damiano. Davis loves research and she did a lot of it during graduate school, but this new role is still pushing her out of her comfort zone. She specialized in American art during school, but this job requires her to be comfortable with European art and Romance languages such as French and Italian. Davis, only fluent in English, is hoping to catch up to Damiano, who already is fluent in multiple languages.
Davis appreciates the welcoming staff at the museum, which she said “feels like a little community within this big UGA community.” As someone who thrives on organization and routine, she enjoys the particularity of citations and arriving at work by 7:30 a.m. Although she’s strayed a bit from her journalism background, Davis enjoys that parts of her job call for the editing and writing skills she learned in undergrad.
By Kaitlyn Page
