Role: Co-Curator
Duration: January 2023 – April 2023
Location: Michigan State University Libraries in the Digital Scholarship Lab
Tools: 360 Display Room, Flourish, WordPress, Google Sheets, Google Maps, Canva, and Museum in a Box
Background: This project was devolped in my Digital Hummanties course at MSU. My team and I utilized a combination of visualizations and audio storytelling to allow the user to understand the lives of the women who were a part of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program. We highlighted twenty-seven Monuments Women who served in the US Army and State Department (among other bodies) at the end of World War II, tracking down art stolen by the Nazis to be restored to institutions and individuals who had been robbed or forced to sell their wok in the lead up to the War and during the conflict. Each individual story was hihgligthed in a digital gallery showcase with a gallery display and through an interactive audio and map. This event was hosted in the Michigan State University Libraries in the Digital Scholarship Lab. We also created a website that showcases the exhibit digitally.
Task: My team and I worked alongside the foundation Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art to highlight individual profiles for each woman apart of the MFAA. We had the goal to illuminate the women who are often overlooked when it comes to education on the Monuments Men and World War II. Most of the women didn’t have a lot of information pertaining their biographies but we wanted to showcase their contributions and who they were as their contributions were essential. Framing their stories in this immersive exhibit as art.
Process: Utilizing the 360-room we developed profiles for each woman using the platform Flourish. We gather their biographies from the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art website and compiled that information into a spreadsheet to create the profiles and select key information. The cards show images of the Monuments Women (if available), and a brief description of who they are. You can interact with the card by clicking on the card within the visualization. A pop-up will appear showing more about a selected Monuments Women. Additionally shown within the pop-up are links to the Monuments Men and Women Foundation to view a more comprehensive history.
We also took this information to develop an interactive map using Google Maps to learn more about the Monuments Women by discovering where they are from. In addition we also had a small collection of audio and photographs provides and opportunity to spend more time with the women, learning about specific details of their work, histories, and personalities.
One could take any of the cards on the table and touch them to the top of the blue box so that the sticker on the card is in the center of the box. This audio experience was created using Museum in a Box and pulls materials from the Archives of American Art, among other sources.
Results: The Hidden Heroes exhibit – both in person and in digital form – is available for students and educators to use as a prompt for learning about the place of art in the context of war; about World War Two and its aftermath; and, about women’s history. A classmate and I developed a series of slides using Canva to provide context about the Monuments Men and Women and the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, to lead students to reflect on their own experiences.
The educator guide includes a poetry activity as well as prompts for reflective writing for students.
