The Art of Persistence: Museum Object Students Combine Online and In-Person Exhibition Strategies
The online exhibition The Art of Persistence: Exploring Symbols, Materials, and Function in Southwestern Indigenous Art celebrates and showcases the continued legacies of Native art and culture by considering a variety of art objects – ceramic vessels, textiles, musical instruments, baskets, and figurines. Curated and installed by the students of the spring 2024 Museum Object course under the direction of doctoral candidate Tess McCoy, the exhibition allows viewers to consider various themes related to Southwestern Indigenous art practices and encourages them to engage with these dynamic cultures and objects.
The Art of Persistence is the culminating project of the Museum Object course, which this semester focused on the integration of in-person and online museum exhibition strategies. This exhibition emphasizes the importance of an online presence for museums by highlighting the role of digital platforms in expanding access to collections.
The curators also point out that the digital platforms connect more than just audiences, bringing together objects that might not otherwise be studied together. The exhibition includes objects from the National Museum of the American Indian, Princeton University Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, as well as ceramics from the FSU Museum of Fine Arts permanent collection.
The Art of Persistence has had over 200 visitors from a dozen states, further demonstrating the impact of an online presence. Along with the digital exhibition, the students put together a supplementary case at the Museum of Fine Arts to exhibit objects from the Native ceramics collection. By combining online and in-person components and employing social media strategies, the students have created an exhibition that maximizes engagement opportunities across platforms and locations.
The Museum Object class invites everyone to learn more about Southwestern Indigenous art, culture, and communities by visiting The Art of Persistence, online and in the exhibition case at MoFA through June 1st, 2024.
The spring 2024 Museum Object students:
| Madison Appleton Robyn Bell Alli Boroff Mackenzie Broome Camryn Castellano Alyssa Duarte Vivienne Dumas Gabriela Jiménez |
Audrey Lendvay Murphy Movsovitz Nadia Nolan Nicole Rezanka Corinne Roethke Vi Rogers-Rivera Mary Sprinkle Liberty West |