The Museology program’s Exhibit Development course teaches the fundamentals of creating a museum exhibition, taking students through the development process from concept to installation. Students recently put their installation skills to the test, presenting four walk-through exhibitions in the Alder Commons.
The March 3 exhibits each showcased a central theme, incorporating an interactive element and at least one personal artifact from every group member.
Class instructor and iSchool Assistant Teaching Professor Lane Eagles said these pop-up exhibits “are a real testament to [the students’] hard work in my class and a positive sign for the future of curation.”
One group’s exhibit examined the differences in healing processes of grief and complex emotions, displaying artifacts that represent their personal approaches. Curators Izzy Dunn, Thomas McNulty, Devon Leigh, Abigail Watson, Yann Qu, Megan Lam and Grace Vallecillo-Drews called their exhibit “Bitter Sweet.” “Everyone can relate to the bittersweetness of processing difficult emotions,” McNulty said.
Leigh mentioned that the overall exhibit intends to demonstrate one main idea while reinforcing that everyone individually processes these emotions in their own way.
“Processing grief is our central theme, but we left it broad enough that we could all do our own thing with it.”
Playing with the notion of temporariness, curators Liz Organ, Karino Wada, Brittany Matthews, Zoe Velie, Jasmine James, Rebecca Greenberg, Grayson Conner McKinnerney and Yijing Xu presented an exhibit called “In the Moment.” Organ shared that each item signifies how our lives are temporary. They brought in a candle that was never lit as their personal artifact.
“I wanted to keep it how it is and in doing so you recognize that the candle is not completely temporary,” they said. “As you can see by the cracks in the wax on top, the candle is going to be temporary whether or not I burn it.”
Developing the central idea of these exhibits takes collaboration and communication among group members. Organ mentioned that their group was able to find commonalities between the items each member wanted to bring, helping finalize their group concept.
Similarly, the integration of personal narratives and experiences served as the foundation for another group’s exhibit. “What Could’ve Been: Our Possible Selves,” by Chelsea Gabzyl, Olivia Violet Jenkins, Wilson Lam, Betty Mfalingundi, Neil Pezzoni, Daniel Schweizer, Nancy Wynstra-Cope and Zhiyue Chen displayed artifacts that represent how each group member’s life could have changed if a certain experience had a different outcome.
Some artifacts demonstrated alternative career paths students considered pursuing, while others represented personal events or struggles of their pasts.
Mfalingundi shared, “For me, [my artifact] is more about identity and my relationship with myself.” The exhibit’s curatorial statement defined these “could have” moments as both blessings and missed opportunities.
“Far from a collection of regrets, we hope this exhibit inspires visitors to honor their present selves and the futures they have chosen to embrace,” it read.
The fourth exhibit presented “Sustainable Styles,” emphasizing the joy that repurposing belongings can bring into our lives. Curators Marnie Hill-Woodworth, Jessica Iwuoha, Priyanshi Shukla, Chris Jung, Annie Hicks, Anya Lord and Holly Young displayed repurposed and regifted items, showing how creativity and sustainability can be incorporated into new items and serve a new purpose.
Artifacts included a repurposed chair found in a dumpster, thrifted jeans personalized with patchwork designs, and an interactive collaging station full of children’s book pages to create new artwork.
Hicks mentioned that when thinking about the focus of their exhibit, the group asked themselves, “What do we all have in common?” They concluded that they all own objects that have been repurposed or regifted, and shared how those items add to the fullness of their personal lives.