exhibit reflections

What a party we had last night to celebrate the opening of The Ancient Americas. I heard today that over 3,200 people were in attendance! That's insane. But the festivities and good spirits last night were incredible and for good reason.



The day started off with a press-preview that lasted til about 11 am. then from 1-3 there was a staff preview. It was such a surreal feeling to see visitors walking through the exhibit....I can't even describe it. I suddenly felt overwhelmed by all the work that went into this thing when I saw people walking through it, taking it in, but not understanding all the headaches and frustration that it took to get this thing completed.

An exhibit requires more architectural, more interior designing, more psychological analysis than i ever expected. An exhibit not only has to display artifacts or objects, it has to portray history, cultures, emotions, societies, religion, science, art (and more) in such a way that a visitor doesn't have to read every label or photo caption to understand what they're seeing. the magic is in the details. not only the way an artifact looks, but the environment that it is displayed in. the colors, the lighting, the way visitors walk through the exhibit taking into account things that humans are naturally drawn to...what will peak their interest to make them decide to walk up to something and engage in it. the environment gives the artifacts context...it gives them a time and place to relate to.

I'm overwhelmed with excitement about this project and I can't wait to show some of you what i'm trying to explain here. I'm so proud to have been a part of this exhibit not only because of the huge accomplishment and the beautiful end result, but because of the overwhelmingly positive response we got from other staff members, the press, and friends/family who saw the exhibit for the first time last night. it really is the most rewarding thing that I've ever done.

and now...some pictures!