Anthony Rudderow ’22 comes full circle as a PCA&D instructor

Who belongs in a museum? Do you see yourself in a museum, and is it accessible in every sense of the word? Who makes the curatorial decisions for a museum?

That just scratches the surface of the kinds of questions that interest Anthony Rudderow. A 2022 Illustration graduate of Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, Rudderow has come full circle and returned to PCA&D as a Liberal Arts adjunct, teaching AH301. Focusing on museums and memorials, this class explores how museums and monuments aren’t neutral but, instead, are dependent upon people to make decisions about how items are collected, what is collected, and how those spaces are staffed. 

And that impact is true, Rudderow said,  no matter the institution’s size.

“When we think of museums we tend to think of these large, affluent spaces,” Rudderow said. “We sometimes forget about the smaller museums, like the Demuth, one of my favorite places in Lancaster, but they can have a great impact.” And, as students enter the arts and culture sector, he added, they can challenge the idea of what makes something “good.”

Image for Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center’s Annual “Grundsau Lodsch fer Yunge.”

The PCA&D Path

Never underestimate the impact of a friend… that’s how Rudderow ended up at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design after military service. College, he said, “did a lot for me, both during and after my time at PCA&D. My time here really was instrumental in me entering the arts and culture sector.”

Winner of the Liberal Arts departmental award at the 2022 commencement, Rudderow then continued his studies, earning a Master of Science in Arts Administration and Museum Leadership from Drexel University. During a practicum experience at the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center in Pennsburg, Rudderow was able to flex his illustration skills, drawing and designing signage. That’s led to full-fledged illustrations for a companion piece to their grant applications and, now, a commission for nine pieces for an exhibition. “I get to use that Illustration art degree!” he said. 

What do you do with an art degree, Rudderow asked rhetorically. “There’s a lot,” he observed, “especially if you have a portfolio to go with it.” In addition to his PCA&D adjunct work, he is serving as Exhibitions & Facilities Manager at Lancaster Science Factory. “I’ve ended up using the entirety of my experience, coordinating vendors, diagnosing and troubleshooting issues, exhibit acquisitions, a little design work,” he said. 

Returning to PCA&D to teach, Rudderow said, “feels familiar to me, but it’s also changed … The student support messaging: I’m happy to hear we’re continuing to raise the educational experience for incoming students. Knowing the College is actively responding to the needs of the student body has me excited. For example, the College is working on more studio space — that’s great! And the experience of matching the energy of the (students) in the classroom … it’s been a great class, a great experience. 

“We really missed Lancaster’s arts scene and community,” Rudderow said of himself and partner Aidan Thackray ’22, Illustration, who recently completed her master’s degree in Art Education at Kutztown University. “You can be surrounded by the arts every day. Now I get to pay it back. I benefited from the undivided attention (of faculty) when I needed it, and they all really, really cared about the experience they were delivering. (David) Spolum, (Matt Allyn) Chapman, (Evan) Kitson … there are just so many, and I just really want to make that experience for students myself. It’s a high bar to match.”

What’s next

Rudderow said he’s fascinated with the impact of the arts and culture on the economy and noted that current events are “dynamic” when it comes to that sector. He remains dedicated to making a difference as a practicing artist in the creative world and hopes to soon carve out time to restart his own practice, doing his own work. And his fascination with industrial material culture, evident in his senior thesis, remains. “The way things are used, how they wear, chip, flake — it tells a story,” Rudderow said. 

“Museums in a society give us a bar to live up to,” he said. “Having a place dedicated to arts and culture promotes a general sense of welfare; that’s the bar we should set ourselves to.”

And, he said, “Really, I’m just having the best time of my life coming back to PCA&D. I had the best time as a student, have enjoyed staying engaged as an alum … college did a lot for me, both during and after my time at PCA&D. My time here really was instrumental in me entering the arts and culture sector.”

Top image: Cider Press for Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center, courtesy Anthony Rudderow. To see more of Rudderow’s work, visit anthonyrudderow.com.