Tommy Washbush
Chazen curator Katherine Alcauskas next to ‘Farm Scene’ by John Steuart Curry.
Curator Katherine Alcauskas with a focus object, ‘Farm Scene,’ by John Steuart Curry.
The UW Madison’s Chazen Museum of Art is making a big change to how it displays its permanent collection — one its staff hopes will encourage more people to stop in.
“We have a multifaceted audience, and so we’re trying to do a reinstallation that gives a little bit of something for everybody,” says the Chazen’s chief curator, Katherine Alcauskas. She brought the idea for a reinstallation to the Chazen when she was hired in 2019.
The galleries were previously arranged chronologically and geographically — that is, by when and where the art was created. In the redesign, casual museum-goers will feel more free to view the galleries in any order.
An object-based approach involving 24 “focus objects” — one for each gallery — establishes a theme for the room and an anchor for surrounding artwork. The new arrangement does not entirely abandon chronological or geographic organization; it borrows elements from both.
“It allows visitors to have multiple entry points,” says Alcauskas. The curators’ goal for the layout is to allow visitors to “choose their own adventure.”
In the galleries, focus objects stand out through the curators’ use of color, lighting and placement in the room, drawing visitors to them first. Many of the galleries were reconstructed so their entrances felt more dramatic, like one room’s expansive display of porcelain, visible from the walkway.
“ We looked for focus objects that we could link to the rest of our collection,” says Alcauskas.
The reinstallation was significantly postponed due to the pandemic, which became “kind of a blessing,” giving curators the time to dive deeply into the 25,000 artworks owned by the museum. As Alcauskas reviewed the collection, she discovered strengths — like the many works from the 18th and 19th centuries — but also other periods with few works.
It was important to the curators to maintain the feel of natural progression from one gallery to the next. In her office, Alcauskas had a large poster board printed with the floor plan of the galleries that she and the other curators used to rearrange focus objects and visualize how they might interact with neighboring rooms.
Curators invited proposals from scholars and students for potential focus objects and feedback on the ones that were ultimately selected. “Students often are pointing out things that I’ve never thought about and it’s really refreshing to hear what people see when they’re not trained as art historians,” says Alcauskas.
Based on feedback, the Chazen added more seating to the galleries and redesigned the labels accompanying each artwork to offer layers of information. With the new design, visitors short on time can easily access the basic details like the title and name of the artist, while those interested in learning more can read longer descriptions and footnotes to find further reading. Museum staff also created gallery maps and an audio guide featuring narration from curators, university faculty and other contributors that visitors can access on their phones.
“The goal really is to meet people where they are and let visitors engage at the level that they want to, either because of their time or their interest,” says Alcauskas.
The Chazen’s status as a university-subsidized museum has perks. “ There’s not that ticket pressure of making sure everything we try is financially a success. So we can [experiment and] do something that is just for people, a success,” says Kirstin Pires, head of communications at the Chazen. And admission is free.
One of these experiments will include piloting interactive activities for visitors in the spaces between galleries, including rearranging mosaic tiles on a metal board or trying a printmaking technique.
Although these galleries display the Chazen’s permanent collection, they are also fluid. “ What’s great about this system is that in the future, since there isn’t a set way of arranging things, if we decide visitors aren’t enjoying one gallery that much, or we need to reconsider it for some reason, we can just take it down and do something else,” says Alcauskas.
On Aug. 31, the Chazen will reopen with ‘Recollection: Exhibiting the Collection,’ a temporary exhibition exploring past presentations of the collection. The permanent collection will reopen this fall.
Tommy Washbush
Chazen curator Katherine Alcauskas shows the new labels.
New labels offer various levels of engagement to visitors.
