Panelists spent the summer caring for plants, pickaxing dirt, cataloguing art, and preparing exhibitions. Each panelist worked in collaboration with a different museum or archive from botanical gardens to art galleries. Our experiences included being an art studio assistant curating a gallery exhibition, tending to and researching within the Mount Holyoke Botanic Garden, dealing Japanese woodblock prints, and excavating an archaeological site in the Tuscan hills of Italy. Despite our different mediums, the missions of our organizations have something in common: preserving and sharing information with public audiences. In a journey from dirt to decor, we discuss distinct processes of collection, conservation, and exhibition with the aim of highlighting the crucial role of museums for the preservation of public knowledge.

Moderator: Kendra Weisbin, Curator and Head of Interpretation

Presenters:

• Madeline Hood '27 Environmental Studies/Music
• Elsa Kulatunga '26 Classics
• Nina Pereira '26 Art History
• Felicity Wababa '27 Art Studio/Education