Thesis Interactive Exhibition with Elaine Gurian and James Volkert

This collaborative exhibition is the culmination of a five-day workshop created by the senior visual arts students under the guidance of Elaine Heumann Gurian and James Volkert. This pop-up exhibition is an integrated part of our Senior Thesis curriculum developed by the visual arts faculty and Elaine Heumann Gurian. Every year Gurian, a senior museum consultant specializing in creating the infrastructure for national museums around the world, comes to Interlochen to work with James Volkert. They espouse a philosophy that feeling welcome in museums, especially for first-time visitors, is complex and necessary. Their collective aim is to provide a framework for seniors to consider and then include their audience when creating their art. Through a series of exhibition workshops, both in the gallery and in non-traditional settings, students internalize the idea of reaching out to understand their viewers' learning needs by exploring learning theory, interactivity, and museum methodology and providing intellectual, emotional, and physical access to their artwork.