Participatory Exhibition Design: Memory Jars at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Greco, A. M.
Copyright Year	2014
Abstract	In the fall of 2012, under the supervision of Director Nina Simon and with the support of an Irvine Grant the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History installed its first completely participatory gallery titled, Memory Jars. As part of a graduate internship, the author was the leader of this project. The Memory Jar Activity invited visitors to fill a mason jar with objects provided that represented a personal memory. The visitor was then asked to write an accompanying label that described their memory. Over 600 jars were collected during the course of the three-month exhibition. Five hundred and sixty four of them were legible and transcribed for analysis. The memories that were collected represent visitors from all age groups and ranged in levels of intimacy and emotion. Some jars were made in response to the visitor's personal experience at the museum while others shared stories as private as losing a loved one in war (Greco, Memory Jar Labels). Due to the quantity and the range of stories, this activity created a safe space for visitors to come and share their memories with their community. The gallery became a microcosm of the museum's visitor base and through visitor surveys and coding of the transcribed memories the author was able to determine why the gallery was such a notable success. Careful planning, timing and an understanding of educational theory and visitor needs were all crucial in creating a successful participatory exhibition. The data collected from this analysis provides insight into the future of these exhibitions, their endless possibilities as well as ethical questions, educational uses and best practices. iv Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the support and guidance of several extraordinary individuals. First and foremost, I am forever grateful to Marybeth and Joseph Greco, my family. Without their unconditional support and advice none of this would have been possible. Secondly to Nina Simon for creating a museum where experimentation and risks are encouraged and for giving me the opportunity to see my ideas come to fruition. To the entire staff of the MAH and my fellow interns who provided the guidance, encouragement and power tools to make all of this possible. The guidance of Dr. Lauren Shapiro was crucial in creating the analysis for the Memory Jar Activity. The guidance and encouragement of Jan Crocker my advisor was also crucial to the completion of this thesis. I …
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Language	English
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Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article