Ryan Lewis, 28 November 2017
As our exhibition is now fully open to the public, I think it is important to look back at the very beginning of the creation process. Each student was assigned to be a part of two different groups, a planning group and a working group. I was a part of the Visual Knowledge planning group and the Interpretation working group. Along with our groups, there was a list of pre-approved objects from the Nationality Rooms that we could use for the exhibition. With all of this in mind, and knowing our focus would be the Nationality Rooms, we then went to Hillman’s Special Collections to examine boxes of archival material from select rooms.
When we got there, we were given free rein to go through as much as we could to gather pictures and documents that interested us. We worked in pairs within our planning groups to cover as much of the material available to us as possible, while still having input from a group member. This stage is where the exhibition came to life as each group began collaborating on what they discovered. Going through and seeing pictures and reading materials from the different Rooms really gave us a deeper look into their creation.
Since each group was working separately and we could take the exhibition in any direction that interested us, this is where the exhibition was created. Each person had their own materials that they grew attached to through their research (mine is the photograph of the bombed mihrab that is currently on display), and the groups created themes that brought these objects together to present the overarching ideas. Visual Knowledge discussed how to connect what we had chosen, and decided upon a theme around the idea of conflict. The themes each group decided on shaped the three different parts of the gallery, while the “big idea” of the whole exhibition was always kept in mind.
Now that the gallery is open for everyone to visit, people can see the way that all our work at the beginnings with the archives became the final product. The rooms were able to connect their themes to allow for a good flow throughout the whole exhibition. Some objects even fit better with other group’s theme to the point that they were moved to make it show the idea in the best way possible. For example, even though the photograph of the bombed mihrab That I had chosen was central to the theme of conflict in the visual knowledge group, we decided to shift it to the hallway where it could accompany other images of ritual and sacred spaces, while also being shown together with materials concerning the Syria-Lebanon Room. Seeing the exhibition develop from a simple object list and some archival documents and pictures into what it is today was a great experience, and one I was proud to be involved with.