The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) and the Ross School of Business have launched a new course, The Business of Art (BE 460), aimed at teaching students about the intersection of art, economics, and curatorial decision-making. The course concluded with a public event called Subject Matters: Art Tank, where student teams presented proposals for the museum’s next acquisition.
On December 1, 2025, five student teams participated in the competition at UMMA. The winning proposal recommended acquiring “The man disguised as night (Anansi #29),” a 2023 artwork by Jamaican artist Leasho Johnson. The students highlighted Johnson’s use of materials such as charcoal and logwood—elements tied to Jamaica’s plantation history—and his process involving indigo and coffee-washed paper layered onto canvas. They argued that these techniques reflect the Caribbean’s colonial past and themes like trauma, extraction, resilience, and queer identity through Anansi trickster narratives from the African diaspora.
The team members were Annika Chinnaiyan, Alisha Gandhi, Annika Gill, Greta Gmazel, Noelle Powers, and Liz Tracy. Following their presentation, UMMA announced plans to purchase Johnson’s work for its permanent collection. This would make UMMA the first university art museum to collect his work.
Throughout the fall semester of 2025, students engaged with curators and art experts while visiting galleries in Chicago and Detroit. Each team was allocated a $60,000 budget to develop their acquisition proposals.
Jennifer Carty, UMMA Curator of Art in Public Spaces and co-instructor of the course alongside Ross Professor Tom Buchmueller said: “The course gives students the chance to see how value is created, not just financially but culturally. They are asked to think deeply about what it means for a museum to acquire an artwork, and what stories that choice will tell for future generations.”
During Art Tank, students had to consider factors such as aesthetic merit, historical significance, market strategy, budget constraints, and UMMA’s collecting priorities when pitching their proposals.
UMMA Director Christina Olsen stated: “At its core, this course is about how choices shape culture and create value. It reflects UMMA’s mission to redefine the role of campus art museums and demonstrates the dynamic role art plays in research, learning, and collaboration across disciplines.”
An exhibition related to the course titled “Curriculum / Collection: The Business of Art” is on display at UMMA through Spring 2026.
