What it’s like to install an exhibit

The installation of Indigenous Contemporary is well underway and we have been hard at work to ensure everything is in place by the opening.  It is exciting to finally have an opportunity to directly apply what we have learned in our Curatorial Practicum course in the actual installation of the exhibit.  It is one thing to discuss the artwork and choose which works will be exhibited, but it is another entirely to unpack it yourself and see it firsthand.  As our professor John Zarobell remarked, “It’s like Christmas!”

Implementing the exhibition layout planned by the installation team has been a fascinating process.  As one might imagine, 20 people brainstorming and debating how to best display each artist’s work is both exciting and exhausting.  Curators must take account of many different factors when placing artwork including spacing, height, sequencing, and even how well separate artists’ works relate to each other.

It…