Emily Campbell, 3 November 2017
Having never put an exhibition together, this experience allowed me to think about gallery spaces in a way I hadn’t before. Specifically, I realized that the way that art and art objects are arranged in a room is done in a very specific way and with purpose. We had to think in terms of not just how objects and artifacts would fit spatially in a room together, but; also if the story they were telling made sense.
Each of the rooms in the University Art Gallery has been given a theme, with the Rotunda focused on Identity, the Hallway used for Sacred Space, and the Front Gallery dealing with Conflict and Cohesion. My favorite part of this seminar is not just seeing all of the beautiful and unique artifacts that were chosen by my peers but, getting to work with people in a way that I haven’t before. During the planning of the exhibition and the actual working as a team to put it together, we have become this tight-knit family. Everyone is working towards the same goal to make this exhibition a success and we’ve all helped each other out in the process. For instance, even though we are all put into groups and are tasked with different things, if I get done with something I jump over to another part of the gallery and see if anyone from a different team needs help, and vice versa. Of course, our professor Shirin Fozi and curator Isabelle Chartier have been there every step of the way to help guide us but, that being said, they’ve given us a lot of free rein. Giving us this independence and letting us make big decisions while still approving everything that happens and making suggestions along the way has helped me and my peers tremendously.
Working in art galleries is my career goal once I graduate. This process has not only taught me how to work in a team better; it has also helped me learn about the whole process of putting an exhibition together and all the hard work that goes into it. I already feel more confident that this is something I can do in the future and I know my teammates are appreciative of the experience as well. I hope everyone enjoys seeing the exhibition as much as we enjoyed creating it!