Endnotes - Fall 2020 Creating a Virtual Exhibit … Virtually
By Noelle Wiedemer
Many of you are probably already familiar with some of the research published in Western New York Heritage by students in Buffalo State’s graduate Museum Studies program. Anna Wachtel’s “There Is No Glamour Here: The Overseas Life and Letters of Alice Lord O’Brian” [Spring 2019] and Jessica Nantka’s “More from ‘The Beach’: The Zonta Club of Buffalo as Preserved in the Howard D. Beach Photography Collection” [Fall 2019] are two examples. As we work to make more and more digital content available and with COVID-19 moving students into an online classroom this fall, we felt a collaboration with the university and its students was the perfect opportunity to build a virtual exhibit for your enjoyment.
Each fall semester, the Museum Studies’ Exhibit Design & Interpretation class teams with a community partner under the auspices of Buffalo State’s Civic and Community Engagement Service-Learning program. By extending learning beyond the walls of the classroom, the experiential learning encourages students to make strong connections with their community, provides valuable hands-on experience for future museum professionals and gives students the confidence to build an exhibit from start to finish – all while earning credit toward their master’s degree.
Previous community partners have included the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo, the Girl Scouts of WNY and The Buffalo History Museum. Unlike previous iterations however, where a visitor went to a specific site to view an installation, the Western New York Heritage exhibit is the first attempt to create a virtual exhibit … virtually. Once launched, it can be viewed from the comfort of your own home at the time of your choosing.
So, what does the process look like from the students’ perspective? A multi-step process, they’ll first write an exhibition brief where several questions are answered – Who is the host? Why is the exhibit being planned? And who is the target audience? Next, a timeline will be established within the constraints of the semester. From initiating the process to launching the exhibit, 16 weeks is an extremely tight schedule – especially when it’s typically their first time attempting something like this. They’ll also need to choose a platform to host the virtual exhibit. Phase three is the content and design phase. Here students will select objects and images, research those that make the cut, create labels and text blocks, develop an overarching narrative to interpret the story for the audience and establish the creative layout and storyboard. Moving on to installation includes checking and re-checking all the content for spelling, grammar, cropping, credits—the list is endless! And finally, the official digital launch so you, the guest, can see the amazing work of these budding museum professionals.
Each year brings a new set of students with a unique set of background and experience. This semester is no different. With degrees in fine arts, museum studies, sociology & anthropology, archaeology, history and animal behavior/ecology & conservation, some have practical experience working or volunteering at familiar institutions—the Buffalo Museum of Science, the Burchfield Penney Art Center and Genesee Country Village & Museum. The one thing that binds them together is their passion for all things museum—which now includes the heritage of Western New York. So, stay tuned for the announcement of the official launch date for Western New York Heritage & Buffalo State’s Museum Studies exhibit – coming to you via digital platform later this year!
