Museums – and their associated exhibits – tell stories of the past for millions of visitors each year. Some are very large, such as the National Museum of American History or Colonial Williamsburg; others are smaller but equally memorable. Whether big or small, all museums attract visitors in ways that no single scholarly monograph, film, or textbook can.
Museum exhibitions are a form of visual storytelling that is more than just history put up on walls; they are metaphors, visual poetry, and imaginative imagination. They allow us to place ourselves within a certain time and space, to understand a historical concept, or to learn about a new world. Exhibits may include objects, dioramas, charts, maps, and interactive displays. They often require more context to explain the items being displayed than do fine art exhibitions. They may also explore topics in a wide range of disciplines, including archaeology, anthropology, and history.
While the vast majority of historical exhibitions rely on a mix of artifacts and text, other types of museum experiences are also gaining popularity. Some such as the Griffith Observatory or the National Constitution Center do not use any artifacts and instead rely on powerful, memorable stories or information to capture visitor interest. Other museums such as the Oneida Historical Society or the California Afro-American Museum utilize fewer artifacts than do most and still succeed at creating compelling exhibitions.
Each year hundreds of history exhibitions are mounted in museums across the country. Many of these works draw on the best available scholarship and contribute mightily to expanding our knowledge and understanding of the past. But because exhibitions are temporary by nature, their impact can be confined to the brief life span of the show. Publication of exhibition reviews, therefore, offers an important means of extending the life of the research and ensuring that critical assessments of the content and format of the presentation will outlast the exhibition itself.
This column focuses on reviewing innovative exhibitions that stretch the established parameters of interpretation, presentation, and collecting. Whether they examine the powerful, ongoing relationship between humans and horses; explore the many facets of African art, from body painting to the bound, elongated heads popular in turn-of-the-century Mangbetu art; or address the challenges of designing a history exhibition in historic structures, these shows deserve recognition for their accomplishments.
While interpreting the past in museums is not easy, it is important work. A well-conceived, engaging exhibit can teach us about the complexity of the past and encourage visitors to explore it on their own terms. It can spark conversations, lead to reflections, or open new possibilities for the future. The work of historians and their colleagues in other fields is crucial to this endeavor; the goal should be a museum experience that is as meaningful, and at times as magical, as the historic places and objects themselves.