Renovation Strategy: Orienting through Exhibition

When myself and my colleagues became aware that a total renovation of our library was approaching, one of the more complicated aspects to imagine reinvigorating was our exhibit spaces. Without more staffing or a dedicated program for exhibit work, we knew that our exhibit space needed to be semi-permanent and to cover a range of subjects to equitably highlight the rich histories held in our Special Collections.

During renovation planning, we found out that not only was there room in the budget to streamline and improve our exhibits, there was also room to work with a designer. While many repositories have graphic design work budgeted as a part of any exhibit, any that were previously designed at the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections relied on the creativity and vision of the archivist designing the exhibit.

With a budget in hand, and a designer to collaborate with, I wrote and proposed a broad geospatial exhibit centered around the semi-obvious statement: "You are in Boston." For many campuses it might feel silly to generate collateral that states: "you are in the city the college is in," but for Northeastern University students who reap the benefits of a global campus and spend one semester in Oakland and the next in London, orienting our students to Boston becomes essential.

As stewards of records of activists and organizations who imparted their indelible marks on Boston history, I wanted to design an exhibit that spatially situated these social movements. The exhibit is broken up into four neighborhood sections: Mission Hill & Roxbury (a region where many students work, eat, and live while they attend Northeastern), Chinatown, East Boston, and the South End. Exhibit highlights balance organizational stories with individual highlights, ensuring that any visitor who looks on the exhibit leaves with the knowledge of who Melnea Cass, Mel King, and Elma Lewis are and what they mean to the city of Boston.

The way the exhibit is designed also allows for future changes. As we may want to observe other stories or individuals, the panels of the exhibit are designed to be removable with minimal damage and we can commission new panels.

Want to tour the new exhibit or learn more about NU's records? Contact us here.