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Take Five: Q&A with Peter Bugg


February 21, 2013

Peter Bugg is an academic associate in the School of Art, within the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, where he teaches students the art of executing gallery exhibitions and helps them get their work displayed at ASU's galleries. The best part about his job, he says, is when his students go on to curate or create shows all on their own. 

Bugg has worked for the university since 2006.

1. What is it you do here?

I teach ART 482: Senior Exhibitions and Portfolio and ARA 460: Gallery Exhibitions. I also manage the student galleries in the School of Art.

I started as a graduate student, pursing my MFA in photography and working as a teaching assistant for Photo 1. In addition to the classes I now teach, I have also worked at the ASU Art Museum as the docent coordinator.

2. What is a typical day on campus like for you?

I spend most of my time answering emails about the galleries. I work on scheduling artists and students, making sure everybody knows when and where they need to be with their art. Fridays are the busiest, when, in addition to the emails, I also teach a class and coordinate one to three gallery turnovers. With the help of two teaching assistants and roughly 10 students, we help artists get all of their art out of the galleries so the next artist can begin installation in a clean space, all within two hours.

3. How do you see your role at ASU? Where do you feel you make the most impact?

I think I help students understand the importance of presentation, both in terms of displaying their artwork and in terms of representing themselves professionally. I like that I get to interact with a lot of upper-level students who are close to graduation. I hope that they can apply what I teach them in order to improve their chances of getting jobs and other artist opportunities.

4. What is the best part about your job?

When something I have taught in class lights a fire in a student and she or he wants to pursue it beyond the requirements for a grade. Many of my students have gone on to get interesting jobs and internships, and curate or create shows all on their own. I find that quite rewarding.

5. What do you do on the weekends?

I use my weekends to have adventures with my wife, make art and spend time in the surrounding mountains.