Exhibition Studies student // wannabe art curator // painter // apparent art blogger
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Reflective Journal
For this Collaboration Module, my task was to undertake research into how to form online exhibitions for a major Museum. The module started in January with several guest lectures from different institutions and fields to present how we could be of help to them. On the 6th February, Donna Young, curator of Herbarium; Natural Sciences and Phil Phillips, New Media Development Manager; Information Systems, visited Liverpool John Moores University to pitch their collaborative opportunities within the World Museum, Liverpool. Donna and Phil informed the group about the World Museum's venue, the extensive natural science collection with consists of: Over 1,000,000 natural science specimens, 400,000 plants, including seed plants, ferns, algae, mosses, lichens and diatoms. 67,000 rocks, minerals and fossils. Nearly a million insects, spiders, shells and other invertebrates. And, 80,000 birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish. We were then informed of the institutions rich and diverse resources and how these are being used for current research by a wide variety of visitors and volunteers. Many of the specimens that are carefully in storage are able to be taken out for research purposes, something that initially surprised and intrigued me, as I assumed they would be too delicate to let any one who is not staff, inspect. Donna then explained how the institution has the resources to help reach a wider audience, this immediately gained my attention; as an Exhibition Studies student, my field of interest is how to use different platforms to make exhibitions as engaging as possible to a wide audience, and exploring different exhibit and curating techniques is a great interest of mine, in particular how to do this with online exhibitions.
My interest in online exhibitions stemmed from my own experiences within the museum. It came to my attention that it is not always reasonable for people to travel to an exhibition they wish to see. Typically, when given an invite to attend an art exhibition, it is assumed that you will be visiting an institution or museum and will disregard the notion of viewing it online. I believe that online exhibitions are an innovative alternative for viewing art. In 2011, the National Gallery London, launched virtual tours on their website which is integrated with their collection information pages to enable viewers to "dive deeper into paintings on view". I believe this way of viewing is beneficially as it gives visitors a private view of work without distractions, or having to change/arrange plans around travelling to different institutions. Within my own research I am to question whether viewing an artwork online differs to seeing it first hand, and wonder if online digital art can only be appreciated this way or if this type of curation can be applied to a number of different areas.
With this in mind, I decided to talk to Donna Young and Phil Phillips after their presentation to discuss a possible collaboration. I informed both of them of my interest in online curation and said how this could be applied to one of their collections. From the presentation, it was clear that much less then half of the entire museums collection was on display, meaning the rest is placed behind the scenes, not really being accessed by a wide audience, apart from times like this where students, researchers, interested visitors ask specifically. Before the two colleagues visited the university, I was not aware that all that is really needed to access collections like this, is simply asking and showing an interest, something that most other people will be unaware of too. I understand how collections like this cannot have people walking freely in-and-out all day as this could be harmful for the specimens that need to be carefully stored. Therefore I proposed an opportunity to create an online page to overcome this problem, making the collections accessible for everyone, whilst also keeping them safe. A different way to engage with the museum. The two seemed very interested in this opportunity and I was given both of their emails with a couple of pamphlets of each of the subject areas and was simply instructed to pick an area I would like to focus on (as selecting them all would be too big and too long of a progress at this early stage) and email them a further proposal once I have decided. After my discussion with Donna and Phil I was very surprised with how well our conversation went. At first it seemed a bit daunting to talk to two members of staff for such a major institution and propose one of my ideas with little to no preparation. With this module I was able to overcome these initial nerves and was able to get my 'foot in the door' with collaborating with other people and gaining valuable experiences with pitching my own ideas.
A couple of weeks later I am in contact with Donna. I state in my email that I am specifically interested in displaying the botanical collection, and arrange a meeting to visit the institution to get an in-depth tour of this collection and decipher how I can specialise my interest. Certain questions are raised such as: "Is there a specific species I am interested in?" "Do I want to do an overview of the entire collection?" "Do I want to tell a story within this exhibit?" something I decided on during my first visit behind the scenes.
Another few weeks after that I am at the World Museum to meet with Donna again, unfortunately she has been off work and out of office therefore at this point my collaboration has been at a slow pace. Whilst waiting at the information desk within the museums entrance I am given a visitors pass and asked to sign in. Alongside me is another Liverpool John Moores Student who is interest in the same collection, but as a Fashion MA student, is interested in how the natural aesthetics and forms can inspire her embroidery work. It was interesting to discover how the same collection and starting point can inspire two different projects and outcomes. It was also beneficial to be given the opportunity to talk to another student coming from a different background.
Donna comes to greet us and swiftly takes us both behind the scenes to the herbarium sector. I am immediately overwhelmed with the size of the space and realise that this is only one small side to the building, this encounter makes the entire size of the institution's clear. We quickly sign a disclaimer form and are prompted to leave our bags and any food/drink in the staff offices. Whilst entering the collections space we are greeted and introduced to other staff, researchers and volunteers working there. We meet other staff from different departments which is useful for my prospects after this exhibition in case I would like to peruse other subject areas and collections. The room overall is colder than usually at the space is very sterile and clean, for preservation matters I assume. Donna helpfully gives us an entire overview of the collection and shows us botanical paper presses that have been preserved as far back as the 18th Century. We are also shown more 'contemporary' specimens and it is very interesting too see that there is not much difference between the two, other than the time of around 300 years. This immediately raises questions in the preservation technique and I aim to enquire if this has changed much. Donna seems to be very much interested with my exhibition prospects and asks me further what my initial ideas are. I explain to her that I would like to investigate if there is a collection that ties in specifically to Liverpool, as I believe curation wise, having the first (of possibly) a series of online exhibitions beginning with its ties to Liverpool will make people more engaged, especially the local community. I am then informed of a collection excavated by William Roscoe (1753-1831) an English historian, abolitionist, art collector, M.P, lawyer, banker and miscellaneous writer who created Liverpool's first botanical garden. This immediately brings me to the Walker Art Gallery's collection which is just situated next door, as I remember a sculpture of his portrait is on display on the ground floor. (This cross-over of institutions grabs my attention as it can be a good way to integrate the National Museums Liverpool, (NML) group.)
I learn about different methods of display and recording techniques, each specimen is given their own unique ID and accessions number, their species name is always recorded in Latin, and the method of pressing plant has had the same technique for centuries. The earliest example given is when the Egyptians used pressed flowers in tombs for their journey to the after life. Donna informs me however this this collection and museums in general are not "just about the past, museums preserve the past to enable us to look ahead." A quote that has originated with me as I believe this is a good summary of museums intentions and makes me look at the World Museums with a fresh perspective.
After the long day within the collection I am recommended to decide what again I want to specialise in given the wide range of information I have received today to narrow down my interest area even further. I have decided on focusing my exhibition solely William Roscoe's collection, with further emails back and fourth between Donna, including useful articles and information on this time. Through my research of William Roscoe and Liverpool's first botanical garden, I have learned that the original purpose of the botanical garden was to facilitate their study of nature using living specimens, Roscoe and other Liverpool gentlemen (Drs Bostock & Rutter, Rev. W. Shepherd) felt strongly that they needed such an area close by rather than London. Quickly Liverpool's botanical garden was known as one of the worlds most major gardens, through Liverpool's strong trading connections during this period, a collection of specimens from all over the world was quickly acquired.
"By the late 1820’s the City was starting to surround the gardens and the consequent pollution was starting to threaten the health of both the plants and visitors. They had also run out of space and by 1831 they had chosen a new location and started the move to this new site, again outside the city limits to Edge Lane in Wavertree. The move was completed by 1836." Source: http://www.merseysidermagazine.com/site/local-history/liverpool-botanic-gardens/
I am invited to visit the collection again several times to help select the specimens I would like to showcase. At this point I am able to open and select the different plants on my own and I am given my own space and access to the rooms computers to take needed photographs and further my research on this topic. From the offset I knew that actually having an online exhibition placed upon the World Museums website would be a very long process, as after all I am a student/volunteer and do not have a positioned role at the institution. Donna confirmed this and also talked about the possibility of just having a link to my exhibition somewhere on their website, Donna again explain how even this will still be a long process as it needs to be confirmed by other staff beforehand.
To ensure my project did not come to a stand still, I decided to showcase the images and research I have collected on my own personal blog which I started as a platform for exhibition reviews across Liverpool. This has worked out very well for me in a number of ways: it has enabled me to start platform again which I was an area I was personally struggling to get back into, the transition from going to exhibition reviews to documenting the process of hopefully displaying my own exhibit in one place is a beneficial way to see how I have progressed (for myself and future employers). As I became a bit conscious of not gaining enough gallery/ curating work experience, I began started volunteering at the Open Eye Gallery on their PRESENCE exhibition situated in St George's Hall and learned valuable front of house skills alongside working behind the scenes at the World museum. This was beneficial as I was effectively able to see a new side to running exhibitions that I have not seen before.
Even though I have not accomplished an end exhibition yet, through using my blog as an outlet for my waiting images, it dawned on me that it's as if they are already an online exhibition with the way they are displayed, with this in mind I plan to carry on doing more posts related to my time at the World Museum and further my own research alongside. My next steps are to carry on researching at the World Museum and hopefully carry on with the long process of making an online exhibition. In the mean time I will carry on creating content for my blog and see how far I can take it.
Overall, this module has been very beneficial for both my contemporary creative practices and my curatorial practice. Before starting this module I would not have thought I would be able to work with such a major institution such as the World Museum after making a strong relationship with one of its current curators. With having also met curators and supervisors from different departments this gives me the opportunity to pursue another project within a different subject area. I have learnt how to narrow down my research skills from starting from a wide topic, to focusing on one specific theme, which will come to be useful when curating future shows. Learning how to take care of each specimen when being trusted alone with the collection shows how Donna has come to trust me over this period, and overall gaining experience from behind the scenes into how an institution runs will majorly impact my curatorial prospects. Before this course I have only created Exhibition Proposals. However, through this, made a proposal and put it into action. I have gathered content on my own and began photographing (and later editing) specimens, and made a start on how I would display it all online. Despite not yet having my exhibition up yet, learning that this is a slow pace production is also valuable to me as a curator I know to take this into consideration, and create a comprehensive timeline, and know for future the steps it takes behind making websites. Having the initiative to put all the content I have gather so far into use within my blog has helped develop my writing and blogging skills, whilst also starting up a new platform again to showcase my progress as a curator; having a site which includes my initial reviews of exhibitions around Liverpool, transitioning to showing my steps into creating an exhibition and then hopefully progressing to showing exhibits that I have curated is a great way to show future employers/ collaborators, both my range of skills and how I am developing as a person.
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Liverpool’s first botanical garden
Through my research of William Roscoe and Liverpool's first botanical garden, I have learned that the original purpose of the botanical garden was to facilitate their study of nature using living specimens, Roscoe and other Liverpool gentlemen (Drs Bostock & Rutter, Rev. W. Shepherd) felt strongly that they needed such an area close by rather than London. Quickly Liverpool's botanical garden was known as one of the worlds most major gardens, through Liverpool's strong trading connections during this period, a collection of specimens from all over the world was quickly acquired.
"By the late 1820’s the City was starting to surround the gardens and the consequent pollution was starting to threaten the health of both the plants and visitors. They had also run out of space and by 1831 they had chosen a new location and started the move to this new site, again outside the city limits to Edge Lane in Wavertree. The move was completed by 1836." Source: http://www.merseysidermagazine.com/site/local-history/liverpool-botanic-gardens/
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