Curator
Curated an astrophotography exhibit using the artwork of Scott Nammacher (my father.) Developed an accessible and engaging presentation theme for complex information. Built a to-scale model of exhibit space with artwork. Edited all label text. Assisted with image fabrication, installation, and opening reception.
Problem
We needed to create an exhibit with a concrete point of reference for visitors. We needed to transform complex information about objects in space into accessible and engaging information.
The pieces in the show are beautiful objects found in space, but not well-known to the public. We also did not know how much knowledge visitors would already have. We needed to decide how much contextual information to show.
Approach
I assessed what visitors might already know about space, and experimented with how the gallery could be naturally laid out.
I started to think about what the "average person" might know, as well as reference points we could include in the exhibit. We went through options about how to organize the pieces: distance from earth, type of object, size, location in the sky, etc.
I built a to-scale model to examine how different themes might work for the artwork and gallery space.
Solution
We decided on a theme: ordering the pieces by the season that each would appear in the Earth's sky.
After looking at the different possibilities, we sorted the pieces according to seasons. Each wall had the variety of nebulae, galaxies, and globular clusters that one might encounter. This allowed us to have the creative license to curate each wall, and provided a concrete reference point.
We added a map of the constellations with labels to each object shown in the show.
