Representing Pasts – Visioning Futures

Abstract

In 2005, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) modified the definition of a museum to include a wide-reaching number of heritage sites, including botanical gardens. As a result, 2005 marks a progression in the definition of a museum and a progression in curatorial practices away from the traditional practices of only using display cabinets and gallery hanging techniques. Instead, with the incorporation of gardens, new methods of hanging and displaying art in outdoor spaces have been introduced in some settings. This paper focuses on examples of curating at nontraditional sites and how object, approach, and setting can be manipulated in innovative ways as a result. This paper draws on case study experience gained while interning at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. From January 2022 to May 2022, research was gathered that specifically examines the concept of curating in nontraditional settings in more detail. A new understanding of the best practices of curating in a nontraditional setting has been achieved by working on and interacting with three exhibitions curated for the Marie Selby campuses of Historic Spanish Point and the Downtown Sarasota campus. The case study exhibitions, “Seeing the Invisible: An Augmented Reality Contemporary Art Exhibition,” “Rainforest Masks of Costa Rica,” and “Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith: Flowers, Poetry, and Light” each push the limits of setting, object, and approach. Consequently, analysis of “Seeing the Invisible” will focus on augmented reality object treatment; analysis of “Rainforest Masks” will focus on approach that includes selling art; and the analysis of “Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith” will focus on multi-sensory settings. By examining the contexts of these exhibitions, new understanding of how to curate in a nontraditional setting will be achieved.