CONWAY, Ark. (Dec. 14, 2009) – History major Courtney Taylor has completed a project most undergraduates could only dream about: curating her own museum exhibition.
“Protest and Parody: A Native Response to Americanization” brings together more than 50 works of art from the past three decades. The diverse pieces, made by artists from tribes across the U.S., all react to the effect of American culture on Native people.
“It is a unique opportunity,” Taylor said. “Not that many people get the freedom – the responsibility – to curate a show as an undergraduate.”
The art comes from the J.W. Wiggins Native American Art Collection, housed by the Sequoyah National Research Center at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Taylor interned at the research center this past summer, processing archives.
“I went into the internship knowing that possibly I could curate my own show,” Taylor said. “It didn’t happen over the summer, but they said I could do it for the symposium.”
Taylor’s exhibition was unveiled Oct. 24, to coincide with the 9th Annual Sequoyah Research Center Symposium. It will be on display through January.
In addition to selecting the works for the show, Taylor wrote and designed a brochure to provide background information on the key works. She will also produce a catalogue compendium of the artworks.
Taylor, who minors in art history, created the exhibition through an independent study course with Dr. Rod Miller, associate professor of visual arts at Hendrix. The experience convinced her to apply for graduate programs in museum studies, and she plans to specialize in Native American art and history.
The Sequoyah National Research Center is located in Little Rock, at 2801 South University Dr., University Plaza Suite 500. Taylor’s exhibit is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is among 165 colleges featured in the 2010 edition of the Princeton Review America’s Best Value Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.
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