Working with images and text from the curatorial team, the design team created an identity for the exhibition with a font, color palette, and main image that could be used on different marketing platforms and on the exhibition’s website. This process started by making the title wall for the exhibition. It is a very important decision because it serves as the first impression of the exhibition. This process involved multiple drafts and consulting with the curators who were responsible for selecting artworks and writing the accompanying text. The theme, purpose, and mood of the exhibition influenced the design process and style, resulting in a bold serif font, and a warm color palette derived from pieces in the collection. Designers were then split in two groups: one focused on creating the website, and the other creating content to promote the launch of the online exhibition.
​
Design Team
The web building team built the website with easy navigation and accessibility, clear gallery pages with images and descriptions, and an overall organized layout and structure. The end result was an exhibition that is aesthetically pleasing and accessible to ensure an inclusive user experience. The marketing team created graphics for several social media platforms, recorded interviews of students and teachers from both courses, and created both print and digital flyers to be posted in various locations around Toledo to share information about the upcoming show. The design and curatorial processes were photographed and documented, with this material being used to create a video and book for archiving.
​
Design Team: Barry Whittaker’s Class
Nylani Beireis, Lucy Bogart, Kacie Chandler, Adele Corente, Sydney Galloway, Matthew Gerwin, Serenity Hernandez, Andy Martin, Mackenna Rodgers, Jada Smith, Kenzie Stewart, Keira Turvey, Matt Widner, Sara Wisler
Curatorial Team
Art Museum Practices works alongside the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) to introduce students to the inner workings of a museum. Students meet with multiple members of the TMA staff to discuss their jobs, responsibilities, and their professional histories. Based on examinations of the TMA’s collection, students developed concepts as varied as flower language and mythology in art. One student suggested the theme of birds in art, which immediately captured the group’s imagination. Paula Reich returned to walk us through previous bird themed exhibitions she had developed at the TMA and taught us about how birds are connected to art through ornithology, the exotic goods trade, hunting, and religious symbology.
​
Our exhibition is about the symbolic power of birds to represent nature, transcendence, values on beauty, and the moral lines people are willing to cross to attain things they desire. Each artwork in the exhibition incorporates birds in a meaningful way, even if not always as the central focus. The curatorial team began with a master checklist of nearly 70 artworks, which was gradually narrowed to 23 objects that each contributed substantively to the exhibition’s themes. Once the final selection of artworks was made, each student chose what specific objects to research and write a label for. This process took weeks and involved drafting as well as revising the label text so that it was engaging and informative for viewers and met the professional editorial standards set by the TMA for any exhibition.
Curatorial Team: Thor Mednick’s Class
Blake Bialorucki, Lauder Bockelman, Emmah Brown, Olivia Eckhardt, Moira Hause, Malak Ismail, Andrea Jackson, Jocilyn Kleeberger, Tiffany Smith, Mo Tyrybon, Nate Williams