The Ides of November
Today marks the end of week 13 of classes, and lands us right before Thanksgiving Break. (Which is a cause for thanksgiving in its own right!) This doesn't mean the HA class has been slacking. In fact, the break has led us to realize that:
1. This is the last full week of November
2. We still have so much to do!
This week has been rather productive. Last week, six of us attended the NCPH and IUPUI Public History mini-conference in Indianapolis about careers in history. It brought back into focus how much work goes into our exhibit, and what real-world work we are doing. If you would like to read more, check out Jessica's blog on the EIU History Department page here.
Meanwhile, a sudden deadline from one of our exhibit partners required us to start thinking about mounting procedures for several items. This can be intimidating for first time exhibitors, especially when information that you suddenly need can be the determining factor for receiving permission to use objects on your exhibit. Thankfully, the group came together to make decisions, and Amanda stepped up in communicating and negotiating with the institution. The collective efforts were successfully accepted, so we will be able to display some incredible pieces,in the exhibit!
Wednesday brought several interesting discussions towards our exhibit. A trip to the Tarble Art Center on EIU's campus allowed us to talk to the crew installing a new art gallery by Firelei Báez, entitled Vessels of Genealogies. Next, we were off to Booth Library to take a look at possible display opportunities, as well as checking paint samples against the exhibit space. We finished the day going over the Artifact Data sheets, which was created by the whole team.
Coming up, we have major details for our exhibit due in short order. The style, text, display models, and orientation of the visitors will be the focus after break, as well as a tentative budget. Teams have been created for the task ahead, but Thanksgiving has most of us headed elsewhere for a week. We will be back for the last two weeks of the semester, then resume the blog in January. Stay tuned!
