Last week I talked about some of my current projects at the Barry Art Museum. For that post, I focused on collections research in preparation for an upcoming publication about the Museum, and upcoming exhibitions. This week, we’ll look at projects relating to our upcoming expansion as well as ongoing initiatives and objectives.
Museum Work, Expansion Projects I: Outreach
The Barry is on the cusp of significant growth in its institutional history. Beginning next year, we’ll undergo a major expansion that will increase our gallery, education, and collections storage spaces. To accommodate that expansion, we’ll need to temporarily close our main building and put some of our collections in offsite storage.
Since we don’t want to lose momentum on the audiences we’ve developed over the past five years, we’ve started working on outreach initiatives we can implement during our temporary closure. Among the ideas we’ve discussed is, you’ve guessed it, outreach shows. Given my dissertation research, I’m excited to work on outreach and put some of the insights I’ve gained into action.
More generally, the expansion is encouraging us to reassess our current audience engagement. Additionally, we’re seeing it as an opportunity to develop ongoing relationships with different institutions both on and off-campus, to improve our engagement in the future.
Museum Work, Expansion Projects II: Collections Reinstallation
We’ve also been considering collections engagement after the expansion. In preparation for our increased gallery space, we’re planning a comprehensive reinstallation and reinterpretation of the permanent collection. Don’t get me wrong, the initial installation of the collection is an engaging, thoughtful one, and we’ll definitely quote it in the future. But the collection has grown since then, and with the additional gallery space, we’ll have room to address different art historical conversations. The research I’ll be doing for the collections book will be the springboard for this project by giving us a strong scholarly base with which to reposition our holdings.
Beyond reconceptualizing the permanent collection’s interpretation, we’ll also be configuring its rotation schedule. Objects need to rest, after all, particularly the light-sensitive textiles on our dolls. So while we’re engaging in offsite outreach, we’ll also be establishing a regular rotation rhythm for our reopening.
Museum Work, Expansion Projects III: Long-Term Exhibition Planning
Another long-term goal of mine is to create a long-term exhibition schedule. For our major temporary exhibitions, we’d like to plan at least 2-3 years ahead, or even 3-5, as that will give us more time to raise funds and conduct research. We don’t necessarily want all shows on that schedule, as we like the flexibility of doing topical pop-ups, but for our main exhibitions, we’d benefit from more lead time.
With this goal in mind, I’ve been doing some institutional research. I’ve compiled a list of previous exhibitions from both area museums and university collections to see what’s already been done. I’ve started to visit local collectors and artists to identify potential topics and repositories for future shows. I’m meeting with area curators to ask about their upcoming projects and identify ways in which we can collaborate and intersect our initiatives. In the long term, I’d like to help establish a local curatorial meetup where we share upcoming schedules and brainstorm potential partnerships.
On the more in-house side, the rest of the staff and I have begun discussing potential exhibition schedules. Specifically, we’ve been addressing how many shows we can reasonably stage each year. We’ve also started talking about when to stage them so we’re not overloaded.
Ongoing: Increasing Campus Engagement
An ongoing goal for the Barry Art Museum is to increase its engagement with the University campus community. To be fair, we already do this through special events, hiring undergraduate and graduate students as Gallery Hosts and interns, and inviting faculty to bring their students to the Museum. I’ve also met with classes to discuss museum work, and we had a class visit our space while we were installing the maritime show to discuss some of the more practical aspects of curation.
But every institution can improve. As Curator, one of my long-term goals is to get students more involved in the curatorial processes at our Museum. Gallery Hosts interested in curation might become my research assistants. Given my experience with curation and teaching, moreover, I’m interested in potentially teaching or co-teaching the occasional course in the future.
Final Thoughts
Now that I have completed the dissertation, I’ll post about my museum work more consistently on this blog. In the meantime, I hope I’ve conveyed the activity and vibrancy of the Barry Art Museum. This is a rising institution, and over the next few years, it will change and grow in exciting ways. And I’m honored to be part of that.