Cure for the common gallery

High school students across the country are working on a major art project and their efforts will be part of Canada’s pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in China. 

Massielle Moreira created "The Windy City"  in partnership with the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. The piece is a response to “If Jon G Kind only knew” by D.W. Buchanan.

They’re part of a new program called Young Curators of the Future, led by the Canadian Heritage Information Network.

Since last year, six Canadian museums and art galleries including Museum London, have been working with local high school students to interest them in curating through social media.

The students were guided around the museum to learn more about curating and to pick the pieces that would inspire their social media project, says Steve Mavers, curator of education at Museum London.

Mavers says students respond to the original art by writing artist profiles or critiques, as well as creating their own artistic pieces.

Their work, he says, is digitized and uploaded to a private WordPress page which is “sort of a work platform.”

The students from the various provinces are also members of an exclusive Facebook group where they can chat about the project and art in general, he says.

The Canadian Heritage Information Network did not provide information on the number of students involved across the country, but Mavers, says there are about 30 London students participating in the project. 

One of the participants, 17-year-old Alexa MacKinnon, says the educational aspect of the project got her more interested in the inner workings of museums – especially since she didn’t know what a curator was before getting involved.

“It was really interesting to see how the museum vaults work and how the curators set up exhibits,” she says. “We take for granted how much work they do.”

International Expo-sure

The artifacts from the museums and galleries and the work students produce are centred around the theme for the World Expo 2010 – “The Living City,” which is focused on creativity, inclusivity and sustainability. 

Museum London is home to both art and one of the most significant collections of historical artifacts in Ontario. The London students chose artists from London and many pieces depict scenes from the city’s history or prominent locations.

“We wanted to represent some of our locality,” he says. “Museums serve as areas where we can find identity.”

It’s a learning project for everyone all around. ... We’ve never met the other partners, but we’re creating a Canada-wide exhibition with technology.The students’ completed work will be featured as part of a digital exhibit in May on the Virtual Museum of Canada website, where it will remain for five years, he says. This virtual exhibit will get wider attention as part of the Canadian pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai, which also starts in May.

The educational project is not intended to make any money, Mavers says.  Rather, its goal is to get students involved and interested in museums. The project provides students with an audience for their work, while also encouraging more museums to use social media.

This was Museum London’s first experience with social media for an education project. Mavers says it has demonstrated ways that museums can make exhibitions relevant to a wider audience. Furthermore, it has been a great opportunity to collaborate with museums across the nation.

“It’s a learning project for everyone all around,” he says. “We’ve never met the other partners, but we’re creating a Canada-wide exhibition with technology.”

(Anti-) social media

While Mavers is optimistic about the use of social media to engage young people in museums, Sandra Dyck, curator for the Carleton University Art Gallery, has her doubts.

Rae-Anna Horvath created "Untitled" in a response to “Souvenir of La Rochepot,” by Josef Herman through the Southern Alberta Art Gallery.

She says increasing awareness and engagement in museums in youth is important, but using social media might not be the way to go.

“We want them to be excited about real objects,” she says. “[Social media] encourages more screen time."

In fact, she says without tracking the number of students who’ve joined a Facebook group or become the followers of a Twitter page, it’s not really possible to observe an increase in engagement among youth.

“The best way is to get them to come in as school groups and not be intimidated,” she says. “You hope that they’ll be motivated to enter [the museum], that it won’t just stop at the screen.”

MacKinnon says the project could have put more emphasis on the social media aspect. She says that while making use of Facebook and WordPress to upload work was tricky at first, kinks were worked out over time. Now she’s excited to see the complete digital exhibit.

“One of the best parts [of using social media] was getting to see and read about other people’s pieces,” she says. “It made the project unique.”

Mavers says the project has also given the students a wider stage for their creativity. Not only will their work be featured in the Virtual Museum and at Expo 2010, but Museum London is one of two participating institutions that have put students’ real artwork on display.

MacKinnon says the chance to have her work shown in a real museum with the potential for it to be displayed in China is definitely the best aspect of the project. As well, she says Young Curators has opened her eyes to more avenues for a future in the arts.

“The project has really shown us that there are opportunities in art,” she says. “Not just to get our work displayed, but to have a career in it. … I don’t think I’ll ever look at a gallery exhibit the same way again."

Young Curators of London

Here's a look at some of the art high school students in London, Ont. created as part of Young Curators of the Future, and the artwork that inspired them.