Lydia Flack’s Post

Welcome to the first edition of "curiosities." If you've ever wondered how European royalty entertained their guests or how many renowned European museum collections originated, head to my latest post. This post is also the first of my new series, "curiosities," a collection of objects, experiences, emotions, and even thoughts that have caught my attention—things that I've been fascinated with and have stored in my cabinet of curiosities. https://lnkd.in/eS4wEdXS

🌱 What does this artwork evoke in you? 🌱 Do you believe in art as a way to change our perspective on environmental issues? For me.. art plays a pivotal role in shifting our perspectives on climate issues by bridging the gap between scientific data and human emotions. Unlike numbers and theories which often feel distant and abstract, art has the power to evoke visceral responses and personal reflections. When I make art, I feel intimately connected to the act of creation itself, tapping into a realm where emotions and ideas converge. Furthermore, art serves as a platform for advocacy and activism. Artists around the world use their creative expressions to raise awareness, mobilize communities, and hold decision-makers accountable. Whether through street art, film, literature, or music, art amplifies voices and empowers individuals to contribute to positive change. I believe art transcends boundaries of language and culture to connect people on a deeper level. By harnessing the emotive power of art, we can foster a collective consciousness that values environmental stewardship and inspires meaningful action towards a sustainable future. (This artwork was created for the Open University Project "Tree Connections: Decarbonisation and Sustainable Food through the Arts")

BIG WHOOP by Liam Murphy 5 - 19 December 'Big Whoop' is a response to the general ‘enshittification' of things at the moment - politics, the environment and ‘cozzie livs'. It feels so overwhelming at times, like everything is going downhill, but we can only change what we can change, so I thought what can I do? How can I address these issues through an exhibition? So, I curated a series of happy and exuberant paintings to bring some joy into people's day to day lives. A collection of smaller, more affordable works that are more accessible to people in the current economic climate. Repurposing materials that would have been sent to landfill, but instead have made into something beautiful. Little pieces that aspire to bring some joy and happiness into the world during times of uncertainty. An attempt to brighten peoples lives both literally and figuratively.' ___ Liam’s work is the evolution of his lifelong habit of doodling. Vast repetition and an innate understanding of colour create a sense of oddity which is both sophisticated and childlike. __ Join us at our Prahran Showroom for cold brew coffee as you explore Liam Murphy's latest collection of small & happy works. Saturday 7 December 10am onwards RSVP Here: https://lnkd.in/g4HgSZrE

Exciting changes are coming to the exhibits at The Confluence! ✨ Starting mid-November, we will begin Phase 1 of exhibit redevelopment, which will affect the first eight exhibits to make room for the new permanent exhibit Ki’pait’apiiyssinnooni (Our Way of Life). 💭 Did you know that this will only be the second major exhibit overhaul in nearly 47 years of the organization’s history? In fact, The Confluence is well behind museum industry standards for updating and changing permanent exhibits. Museum best practice is to replace most permanent exhibits every three to five years—even core exhibits are changed every 10-15 years. In our case, the exhibits affected by Phase 1 were built approximately 30 years ago, between 1995-1997! 😱 Artifacts from these exhibits will be carefully removed and safely stored prior to construction and many will be used in future exhibits and programs. If you haven’t visited in a while or if you’ve never been here before, now’s the time! Come for a dose of nostalgia and check out the exhibits that put the Fort Calgary Interpretive Centre on the map in the 90s. We’re open Fri-Sun, 10 am-5 pm. We also have guided exhibit tours running on Saturday, Nov. 9 and 16. 👉 Plan your visit today at theconfluence.ca/visit We can’t wait to show you our new exhibits, opening in Spring 2025!

Let's talk about a potential quick win for museum collections management: enhancing object records with existing information. 🙌 Data enhancement is a departure from normal operations, but it's a valuable way to improve collection discovery and increase collection use. And it's a potentially "quick" win because much of the "missing" data is readily available, just waiting to be gathered and added to your museum Collections Management System (CMS). Last week, Rachael Cristine Woody considered the gaps in traditional object cataloging. This week, she explores sources of information that's available for immediate application to enhance object records. Visit the Think Clearly blog to learn more! 💡 #musetech #musepros #collectionsmanagement

Great article on the power of objects and the importance of capturing their stories & provenance.

How amazing are these billboards for the upcoming Haruki Murakami novel, 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls'? 😱 🧡 If you're feeling inspired to start a marketing career in books, take a look at our careers site >> https://lnkd.in/eugUgbBb #billboard #billboards #books #book #reader #readers #workinpublishing #PenguinBooks

Are you attending the NEMA conference in Newport this year? Do you know of a cool exhibit project that deserves to be shared? We are looking for presenters who can speak briefly and share a handful of slides at the Exhibit PAG’s “Slide Show and Tell” conference session. We will give priority to presenters who have not shared in the past, and no project is too small! It can be a project you worked on – or one that you’ve seen recently. Exhibitions can be at any stage in the development process, and we would like to show projects from a variety of museum sizes, types, and budgets! Great projects to share could include: exhibits that accomplish something new (process, materials, design, impact, etc.); projects where you're seeking input from the collective brainpower in the room; epic fails - preferably with solutions or lessons learned; exhibits - or other exhibit-like installations - that have inspired you. If you are interested in presenting or know of a person or project you want to hear from, please reach out to one of the Exhibits PAG chairs: Amber Wingerson, awingers@norwich.edu, Katherine Fecteau, kfecteau@osv.org, or Betsy Loring, betsy@exploringexhibits.com.

A New Smell-O-Vision, This Time For Museums Museums are adding scents as another tool for communicating information about science and other subjects in their exhibits. Does dark matter smell like pepper? Just how stinky was the breath of Tyrannosaurus rex? What was the fragrance of an extinct flower? And what scents might greet us on the moon or Mars? As museums break with static displays of the past by embracing interactive audio and visual and tactile displays, some have added scent to the sensory onslaught. The human sense of smell, which has powerful connections to memory and emotion, has been deployed in art and historical displays and museums around the world. A recent exhibit highlights the use of scent for science communication by enlivening subjects that might otherwise seem heady and abstract. The Corning Museum of Glass’s “Sensorium: Stories of Glass and Fragrance” lets visitors experience some displays through the nose as much as the eyes. https://lnkd.in/gXz9ayNp

🎥Film Screening: This Planted Place (2022) 📆December 8 + 22 | January 5 + 26 |February 9 📍Auditorium ⏰12-5 PM In conjunction with Mia + Eric: In a Strange Place, currently on view in the Morris and Ann Dancyger Observatory Gallery, we’ll be showing This Planted Place (2022), an earlier work by the artists, over the course of the exhibition. This Planted Place will be shown on loop in the Auditorium during our opening hours on December 8 and 22, 2024; as well as on January 5 and 26, and February 9, 2025. This screening is free with gallery admission. This Planted Place examines the ecological complexities and human and more-than-human relationships in the Heidewald, a small woodland in Maxdorf, Germany. The Heidewald is the largest planted robinia forest north of the Alps. This species is controversial because of its ability to aggressively overtake native species, but it is also an important resource for the region as the annual blossoms attract beekeepers and their colonies from all across Germany each spring. In many ways, the Heidewald is the perfect representation of the idyllic German woodland. But this setting of contemplation is continually disrupted by the human world: chainsaws, airplanes, sirens and a human voice amplified by a megaphone. The Heidewald is a wholly unique landscape, but also a place where questions of global significance can be asked. This Planted Place was commissioned by Matchbox: The Itinerant Art and Culture Project in the Rhine-Neckar Region as part of a multi-year engagement process called 3 WOODS. #ContemporaryCalgary #MiaEric #InaStrangePlace #YYCArts #FilmScreening