Order Description
The objective of this assignment is to encourage you to consider how a museum in your community engages with its collection by analyzing its choices in organizing its works for a current exhibition.

Art museums typically possess vast quantities of works, but rarely present these artifacts in haphazard or disorderly ways. Instead, they employ a number of different organizational strategies to make their collections comprehensible to their audiences. An exhibition might present works chronologically by date, for example, or group together works that are similar in style to one another. Some exhibits concentrate on a single artist; others are devoted to artwork produced in from a single geographic region. These approaches allow museums to create endless narratives that, in turn, encourage us to think about how works of art relate to one another in multiple and complex ways.

Instructions

Please read the following carefully: there are two parts to this assignment (Part 1: Short Answers; Part 2: Short Essay). Both parts must be completed in order to receive full credit for this assignment.
Part 1, Short Answers: Analysis of the Organization of Works in the Museum

Identify and then make arrangements to visit an art museum in your community. Be aware of its exhibition schedule and opening hours. For a list of art museums in Florida (and their websites), click the”Writing Resources” tab on the left.
On the day of your visit, spend at least one full hour exploring the museum. Be as thorough as possible. Take extensive notes so that you can provide information on the following:
How many exhibits are currently on display? What are their locations within the museum (are they in the main gallery, subsidiary galleries, etc.)?
Summarize the theme(s) of the exhibit(s). Consult related literature/brochures, title plaques/signs, labels for objects, etc. for this information.
Describe the types of works on display in these exhibits (paintings, sculpture, prints, multi-media installations, etc.).
How are the works arranged within each exhibit (which ones are prominently displayed? Which are in more confined spaces? Do any occupy the middle of the gallery space? Are they arranged on the wall? etc.)?
Note: this assignment draws from your observations of the museum, not from interviews with museum personnel (though please do feel free to consult museum employees if you need assistance/clarification).

Part 2, Short Essay: Proposal for Exhibit Catalog Chapters

Imagine that you are one of the curators employed by the museum and that you have just received the following memo from your museum’s Board of Directors.
Your job, therefore, is to determine how objects currently on display can be the basis for five distinct categories.
First, review your notes on the works exhibited in the museum you’ve chosen to visit,
Next, determine five categories based on the objects currently on display,
Last, write a short 500-word proposal providing a rationale for your five groups AND specifying 2-3 works that will be included in each category.
Remember: your proposal should make specific reference to the current works on exhibit at the museum.

***Use a museum in Tallahassee, Florida***

Order Description
The objective of this assignment is to encourage you to consider how a museum in your community engages with its collection by analyzing its choices in organizing its works for a current exhibition.

Art museums typically possess vast quantities of works, but rarely present these artifacts in haphazard or disorderly ways. Instead, they employ a number of different organizational strategies to make their collections comprehensible to their audiences. An exhibition might present works chronologically by date, for example, or group together works that are similar in style to one another. Some exhibits concentrate on a single artist; others are devoted to artwork produced in from a single geographic region. These approaches allow museums to create endless narratives that, in turn, encourage us to think about how works of art relate to one another in multiple and complex ways.

Instructions

Please read the following carefully: there are two parts to this assignment (Part 1: Short Answers; Part 2: Short Essay). Both parts must be completed in order to receive full credit for this assignment.
Part 1, Short Answers: Analysis of the Organization of Works in the Museum

Identify and then make arrangements to visit an art museum in your community. Be aware of its exhibition schedule and opening hours. For a list of art museums in Florida (and their websites), click the”Writing Resources” tab on the left.
On the day of your visit, spend at least one full hour exploring the museum. Be as thorough as possible. Take extensive notes so that you can provide information on the following:
How many exhibits are currently on display? What are their locations within the museum (are they in the main gallery, subsidiary galleries, etc.)?
Summarize the theme(s) of the exhibit(s). Consult related literature/brochures, title plaques/signs, labels for objects, etc. for this information.
Describe the types of works on display in these exhibits (paintings, sculpture, prints, multi-media installations, etc.).
How are the works arranged within each exhibit (which ones are prominently displayed? Which are in more confined spaces? Do any occupy the middle of the gallery space? Are they arranged on the wall? etc.)?
Note: this assignment draws from your observations of the museum, not from interviews with museum personnel (though please do feel free to consult museum employees if you need assistance/clarification).

Part 2, Short Essay: Proposal for Exhibit Catalog Chapters

Imagine that you are one of the curators employed by the museum and that you have just received the following memo from your museum’s Board of Directors.
Your job, therefore, is to determine how objects currently on display can be the basis for five distinct categories.
First, review your notes on the works exhibited in the museum you’ve chosen to visit,
Next, determine five categories based on the objects currently on display,
Last, write a short 500-word proposal providing a rationale for your five groups AND specifying 2-3 works that will be included in each category.
Remember: your proposal should make specific reference to the current works on exhibit at the museum.

***Use a museum in Tallahassee, Florida***