So That’s What a Curator Does!
by L. Walker
Introduction
How do museum exhibits come to life for the viewer? Twenty-seven LLI members got to find out, first hand, in our Interactive Discovery Day at the Hessel Museum on May 21st. As a backdrop, we used the thesis exhibitions of this year’s CCS graduating class, called 15. We were on a mission to find out “What exactly does a curator do?” As public engagement manager Casey Robertson said, it’s a behind-the-scenes role that can make your experience wonderful, but you don’t notice unless they’ve done a poor job.
Listening to Other Voices
Our journey started by breaking everyone into small groups, arming them with a series of prompt questions, and sending them through the galleries together. The idea was to get the dialogue going with a random group of people and be open to hearing other voices. Together, group members would try to figure out the big picture of what they were seeing through the eyes of a curator.
Here is a video storybook of our day So That’s What a Curator Does!
Space, Theme, and Audience
We asked them to consider the SPACE, which starts out as four white walls, and ask, “What has the curator done differently here to engage you in the work?” That can mean considering lighting, wall placement, and other visual cues.
What about THEME? The curator is trying to tell you a story; what is it? This is harder than you think! Especially when we challenged group members not to read the wall labels first. There was a lot of spirited discussion on this one.
Who is the AUDIENCE for this work? The curator may want this to resonate with a certain group of people. Who is the curator talking to, and how do you know?
The Final Challenge
A few intrepid groups got to the final prompt before the wine and cheese. We challenged them to pick a theme and create their own exhibition! This involved gathering works on their chosen motif from many different exhibits. The feedback was positive during our wrap-up, and most everyone said they had a newfound appreciation for the “silent” role of the curator. If you missed this tour, stay tuned for our next Discovery Day at Hessel this fall!
This event was a collaboration between Casey Robertson, Public Engagement Manager for CCS/Hessel, and L. Walker of LLI Membership Development.
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