The Point Park Project is a biannual initiative of Point Park University which provides a platform for emerging artists and curators in the Pittsburgh area. For the inaugural project, 'Kaleidoscope', four University of Pittsburgh students were mentored by The Milton Fine Curator of Art at the Andy Warhol Museum to develop an exhibition for the Lawrence Hall Gallery. The project was an intensive exhibition study in which the students initiated studio visits and artist interviews before choosing a final four artists to work with. Each student joined forces with an artist to develop a body of work to display. The students were also involved with the marketing, installing, writing, and documentation of the exhibition. The final product is on display at Point Park's Lawrence Gallery downtown through May 12, 2013.
Student Responses:
Tyler Shine--For me this project was such a unique opportunity that helped me see how intimately connected and how very different the professional museum and academic sides of art can be. I had wanted to organize an exhibition a local artists a few years ago, but did not have the adequate resources to bring my vision into reality. As a curatorial intern in the past I was familiar with how an exhibition was planned and installed, but never was able to participate in the actual creation and planning of an exhibition. This project allowed me to do just that—from talking with artists during studio visits, writing texts, planning marketing and general meetings with the curatorial team, I got a fuller sense, on a smaller scale, what goes into an exhibition.
Siqiao Lu--I would characterize the curatorial process as spontaneous and playful, but also requiring one carefully to negotiate with existing resources while considering the full range of factors that impinged on the exhibition. We started our project with studio visits last November under the guidance of our mentor Nicholas Chambers, who gave us total freedom to explore possibilities for the show—from exhibition concepts, to the selection of artists, to composing exhibition texts, to the display of the works. From this experience, I not only learned about making an art exhibition for an appointed location with a designated group of artists, but also have built up professional relationships with local artists, which will prove to be invaluable for me in the future.
Kristen Whitlinger--I began this project hoping to gain curatorial experience from the involvement in this unique collaborative project with Nicholas Chambers, four Pitt students and Point Park. Nick wanted to mentor us to re-envision our former ideas of the "curator" that focused heavily on the relationship between the artist and curator. As a group, we began in early November arranging studio visits with local artists that we had discovered through the internet, colleagues, and galleries. We were given the opportunity to build relationships with local artists, some of which that I have truly benefitted by keeping in contact with beyond the project. This experience was one of the most unique internships I have had the privilege to be a part of during my undergraduate career. Nicholas Chambers as a mentor really put his trust in us to plan this exhibition with our own talents and ideas. We were given the opportunity to thrive in each part of the exhibition process that we felt most comfortable. My graphic experience was welcomed to create posters, invitiations, wall texts, price lists and website design. The team's initiative to create a website, www.pointparkproject.com, created a marketing device beyond the initial advertising push that allowed the exhibition to reach a younger and wider audience.This project really let us gain valuable experience so unique to any other internship opportunities I have had in the past.