Giving Voice to Objects : Museum Studies Seminar Exhibition April 5, to July 15, 2007 Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature University of Richmond Museums On April 5, 2007, the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, will open Giving Voice to Objects: Museum Studies Seminar Exhibition. The exhibition is presented by students enrolled in the Seminar in Museum Studies, a course offered in the University of Richmond's Department of Art and Art History and part of the Interdisciplinary Concentration in Arts Management. The exhibition remains on view through July 17, 2007. Using the concept of "giving voice to objects" for the exhibition, the class developed themes to explore that idea, researched and selected works from the collection of the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature in relation to those themes, designed the installation of the objects, and developed the educational programming.
The exhibition investigates the role that context and setting play in shaping our understanding and interpretation of objects. If every object has a history, and consequently a story, every object must have a voice. Giving Voice to Objects creates a dialogue between the different, natural voices of objects from the land and the sea with objects that have been created by human hands, allowing for a better understanding of the qualities imposed upon these objects by society and culture. How different are the voices of a naturally occurring sapphire and an ornate Faberge egg? Once they are removed from their original context, is it only the physical essence of these objects that remains the same or do their stories hold more in common? This exhibition compels us to move away from our previously held assumptions in order to better understand the natural voices of these unique items. Giving Voice to Objects examines many objects that differ completely in terms of materials, age, geographic origin, and function. With the juxtaposition of natural objects from the land and the sea, as well as with raw and man-made objects, the exhibition offers a unique perspective of the ways in which the world speaks to us, and consequently, the ways in which we understand it.     Under the supervision of their professor, Richard Waller, executive director of University Museums, and working closely with the museum staff, the students curated and designed the exhibition and developed exhibition text and programming. Collaborating as a group and in teams, the curators are Alison Colquhoun, Amanda Doss, Lucy Green, Kristen Malanoski, Hannah Neilson, and Olivia Romeo; the marketers are Lolita Martucci, Dan Merrill, and Tara Miller; and the educators and programmers are Lindsay Ganter, Emily Hand, and Courtney Kwiatkowski.