If you’ve ever been to the David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA) on the Ball State University campus, the first thing you’d notice is the serenity of it. Dim lights and dark wood complete the classical architecture, which is identifiable due to the usage of white marble and roman columns that line the walls. The temperature inside is comfortably cool, and all the elements come together to create an overall calming atmosphere.
Perhaps the only thing more notable than DOMA’s design is the compilation of artworks that is exhibited within. The website boasts a collection of more than 11,000 works spanning from ancient history to modern times, and it features African, Asian, Oceanic, American, and European art.
For how awe-inspiring the pieces are, though, they and the museum do not come without work. The unsung heroes of DOMA are the staff members that work behind the scenes to ensure that the displays remain impressive.
Rachel Buckmaster, Ball State honors alumna and assistant director of DOMA, is one of those people. Her responsibilities include management of security, finances, and fundraising. She also oversees interns on the premises and updates the museum’s social media presence as exhibits rotate throughout the year.
“[After graduating], I never planned on moving back to Muncie, but DOMA just seemed like such a good opportunity,” Rachel says. “Now, I love meeting current Honors College students and talking about how things have changed.”
Rachel was a Ball State undergraduate student from 1991 to 1995, when she pursued a degree in political science with a minor in women and gender studies. During this time, she was heavily involved in various activities. For example, she was the student receptionist at the Honors College and a member of the club “Feminists for Action,” as well as a volunteer for numerous other odds and ends.
“I remember one project. I went to the Pendleton Reformatory, a low-security prison,” Rachel says. “I led sessions helping people start résumés and give out cover letters and things like that, which is really wild that as a college student I was helping people do that, but it was really rewarding.”
Following her tenure at Ball State, Rachel worked in the Indianapolis mayor’s office, where she became heavily involved in arts advocacy and public art projects. Eventually, she went back to school to pursue a master’s degree in art administration and policy at the Art Institute of Chicago from 2009 to 2011.
It was while she was looking for jobs close to her hometown of Muncie when a position at DOMA opened up. Call it coincidence or call it fate: Rachel applied and was pleasantly surprised when she was given the job. She soon returned to Muncie, where she has been for the last six years; and as of now, she doesn’t have plans to leave anytime soon.
“I don’t have major expectations about what’s coming, and I honestly feel better that way because I think you can set yourself up for disappointment if you think too rigidly about what your life can be,” Rachel says. “I really try to stay open, and I think it’s valuable to think about what you want or to try things and then learn what you don’t like.”
Sources: Ball State University
Images: Provided by Rachel Buckmaster, Sarah Olsen
Featured Image: Sarah Olsen
