By Alexis Whitney ’25

Curating an exhibition from start to finish is no small task. However, as someone who dreams of working in a museum, it is a task I took on with pleasure (twice). As a VRC assistant working with the Blick-Harris Study Collection, I have had access to art objects and relics to a degree I never imagined. While creating my exhibitions, one installed in December 2024, and one in April 2025, I wanted to present these objects to students, faculty, and visitors in a way that would encourage connection, interest, and understanding. My first exhibition, Violence as Spectacle: The Appeal of War Photography, features a variety of postcards taken on and around the battlefields of World War I. While the war is well-known by most individuals, many have never seen the kinds of images found in the postcards, including various bodies strewn across fields and in trenches. I hope this exhibition helps people to acknowledge the lengths of the tragedy that occurred, an easy fact to forget, being over a hundred years removed from the war. These postcards represent a history that has affected the lives of everyone today, and it is essential to understand the repercussions of the event.

My second exhibition, Beyond the Glass: The Imagined Experience of Objects, includes items from across periods and regions, encouraging the viewer’s sensory connection with objects, despite being behind glass and out of reach. One of the largest barriers when visiting museums and galleries is the physical space and materials placed between the object and the viewer. While these barricades are important to preserving the art and relics, they restrict the potential connection between the viewer and the object. In this exhibition, I want viewers to look beyond these barriers, finding new ways to interact with the art besides physical touch, promoting the imagination and assistance of their other senses. Using experiences they have had throughout their life as a jumping off point, I encourage viewers to consider how objects might have sounded, smelled, or felt to those who did experience them in their entirety. I aim to bridge the gap created between museums and visitors, reinforcing the importance of the past and how it might not be so different from today.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work in the VRC, gaining experience both handling objects and curating exhibitions. I want to thank Professor Hostetler, who has advised me throughout both exhibitions, providing me with the guidance needed to succeed in this position. I hope to continue working in a museum or gallery setting, and would love to make more exhibitions after I graduate.

Alexis Whitney ’25, Art History Major, English Minor