Dean of Liberal Arts Dan Cavicchi researched and wrote 400 artist and industry profiles for GRAMMY Museum Mississippi’s core exhibit.
Ever eager to share his belief that popular music deserves critical attention, Dean of Liberal Arts Daniel Cavicchi embraces the unique challenges posed by music history museums. “Sound isn’t contained easily,” says the historian, who was invited to help create two permanent exhibits for the Recording Academy’s new GRAMMY Museum Mississippi.
Having worked as a curator for the organization’s flagship GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles almost a decade ago, Cavicchi was pleased to expand on that earlier work and extend the reach of his research. “I love finding [audiences] I haven’t talked to before or had the opportunity to reach yet,” he says of bringing music scholarship to the general public. In fact, creating new ways to teach and understand how the arts intersect with American history and society is essential to both his own research and RISD’s approach to liberal arts education.
“You’re only getting part of the picture if you’re not looking at the arts in American history,” Cavicchi affirms. “They don’t just exist on the side. They are central to who we are and how we think about ourselves.”