The collections of the Carlos Museum provide a rich resource for Emory faculty in departments across the university. Faculty are encouraged to use the collections and exhibitions of the Carlos to engage their students’ intellect and imagination, to foster a variety of skills from visual analysis to critical thinking, and to consider works of art as primary sources for evidence-based research.
The museum’s diverse collections and temporary exhibitions provide points of connection with a variety of disciplines as well as opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. Faculty in art history, gender studies, classics, religion, creative writing, dance, anthropology, English, the sciences, and others use the museum's collections and exhibitions regularly in their teaching.
Admission is always free to Emory faculty and students, but an Emory ID and a face covering are required.
Class Tours
Faculty members are welcome to guide their classes through the collections and are encouraged to reserve gallery time in order to avoid overcrowding.
Museum staff are also available to work one-on-one with faculty to design specialized tours of the collections and to develop in-gallery and research assignments. Contact Elizabeth Hornor, Ingram Senior Director of Education, at ehornor@emory.edu or 404-727-6118.
Teaching with Works Not on View in the Galleries
The museum recognizes that only a small portion of its collection is on view at any given time. Faculty and students may arrange to view selected objects from storage by appointment, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., pending the availability of staff and suitable space within the museum.
Ideally, faculty and students should contact the curator responsible for the object(s) at least two weeks in advance of the class or study period. Museum curators will help faculty and students to complete a Study Access/Classroom Use of Objects form. So that faculty can focus on their teaching rather than on the care of the artwork, a museum curator and/or member(s) of the collections staff will attend classes when artwork is present.
The Carlos Museum’s permanent collection galleries mirror its curatorial divisions, each overseen by a member of the staff:
Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art, Melinda Hartwig
Greek and Roman Art, Ruth Allen
South Asian Art, Elizabeth Hornor
Works on Paper, Andi McKenzie
Using Images of Works from the Collection
High-quality photographs of more than 3,500 objects from the museum’s collection are available online free of charge for use in teaching.
To request photographs not available online or to request permission to publish photographs in scholarly works, faculty and students should contact mccm.collections.services@emory.edu.
Museum staff also work with departments on campus to develop programs of interest to the Emory and Atlanta communites. For a complete listing of these programs, please see the calendar.