Welcome!

You've probably been to a museum or two, on a field trip in elementary school, or during a family vacation. Perhaps you wanted to see one of the famous pieces of art (you know, the kind that make it onto calendars and magnets) or maybe you were here in Philly and just wanted to run up the Rocky steps and figured that since you were already here... Whatever the reason, chances are you've seen an exhibition.

But have you ever wondered what goes into creating it?

This blog, Shaping Space, Making Meaning, will follow the new changing exhibition at the National Museum of American Jewish history. It is all about what goes into creating a major exhibition, or more specifically, what goes into creating the major exhibition for the NMAJH's new home, which is scheduled to open in 2010. Shaping Space, Making Meaning not only gives visitors an insider glimpse into what goes into developing a large-scale exhibition, but offers them a chance to share their opinions as well. It is intended to be a strongly interactive exhibition, and this blog is an extension of that.

Now I don't know about all of you, but I think the opportunity to contribute to such a major exposition is pretty darn cool (granted I'm a little biased, but hey -- why intern somewhere you don't find pretty darn cool?). Museum exhibits are about more than just showing off pretty objects, they're about telling stories about people using their cultural patrimony as a vehicle. And exhibitions determine more than just how we spend an afternoon; they determine how we remember the past, what we include and with what significance, and through what lens we view it.

My interest in museums began at the mature age of 3, through the seminal piece of cinematic mastery, Sesame Street's Don't Eat the Pictures. In the movie the whole gang gets locked in the Metropolitan Museum of Art after Big Bird wanders off to meet Snuffy and they lose track of time looking for him. During the course of the night, each of the characters visits an exhibit that appeals to his or her interests in some unique way (Oscar finds an exhibit of broken statues, Cookie Monster laments the rule against eating the still life paintings of food). And for Big Bird and Snuffy, the exhibit on Ancient Egypt actually comes alive.

Okay, so perhaps none of the photographs in the exhibition get up and start talking during the night (at least as far as I know, though hey, I work mornings...), but this exhibit is definitely alive. Its purpose is to both educate and act as a forum about what a museum exhibition on 350 years of American Jewish life should be about, how it should sound, how it should be remembered. Visitor feedback will be presented to the team ultimately designing the exhibit. So please, share your thoughts, give your advice! We are definitely listening.