MICA COURSE ALLOWS STUDENTS TO RECEIVE EXPERIENCE IN BUILDING A MAJOR GALLERY EXHIBITION
Founded in 1997 by MICA Curator-in-Residence George Ciscle, the Exhibition Development Seminar Launches its Ninth Exhibition in February 2006

At Freedom’s Door: Challenging Slavery in Maryland Takes Place Saturday, February 3 – Sunday, October 28, 2007 at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture and the Maryland Historical Society

More than 35 students from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and Morgan State University have participated in a two year seminar engaging them at a professional level in every aspect of the development and installation of a major exhibition, including the research, planning, and production. These students, enrolled in the Exhibition Development Seminar, have been working on At Freedom’s Door: Challenging Slavery in Maryland to be exhibited at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture (RFLM) and the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) from Saturday, February 3 – Sunday, October 28, 2007.

At Freedom’s Door: Challenging Slavery in Maryland examines Maryland’s integral relationship to the history of slavery in the United States by exploring the resistance to slavery from enslaved and free people of Maryland, as well as the state’s participation in the institution and perpetuation of slavery. The changing definition and perceptions of freedom are also examined from both historical and contemporary perspectives through artifacts, accounts, and the work of contemporary artists.

The Exhibition Development Seminar, founded in 1997 by MICA Curator-in-Residence George Ciscle, has brought together diverse teams of students from MICA’s undergraduate, graduate, and continuing studies programs to develop and implement nine exhibitions in museums and galleries in Baltimore, including Joyce J. Scott Kickin’ It with the Old Masters, a blockbuster exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2000; Situated Realities: Where Technology and Imagination Intersect, featuring artists using contemporary technology in the making of art, at MICA in 2002; Ann Fessler’s sound and video installation Everlasting, which addressed many widely held myths about the experiences of women who surrendered their children for adoption between World War II and Roe vs. Wade, at MICA in 2003; Comics on the Verge, an exploration of contemporary comics, at MICA in 2004; and most recently, Lawson Oyekan and the spirit of nature, a retrospective of native Nigerian and London-based ceramic artist Lawson Oyekan as part of Baltimore’s Tour de Clay, at MICA in 2005.

Ciscle, founder of what is now the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, has worked to create new models for exhibitions and public experience in art. Each seminar promotes an atmosphere that encourages hands-on interaction between artists, curators, designers, writers, educators, and other professionals.

For At Freedom’s Door: Challenging Slavery in Maryland, George Ciscle invited students from Morgan State University to take the class through the Baltimore Student Exchange Program, which allows students at Baltimore Collegetown Network institutions to cross-register for courses at other member colleges. The students enrolled in the seminar represent a wide range of artistic, ethnic, and personal backgrounds.

Working in teams, the students in the seminar have developed each phase of At Freedom’s Door: Challenging Slavery in Maryland. Local professionals and staff members from MICA, RFLM, and MdHS also acted as mentors giving constructive criticism and real-world advice. Students drafted proposals and made presentations to the curators and mentors, finalized proposals into actualized plans, and are working with MICA, RFLM, and MdHS staff to install the exhibition and run associated public programming. Their responsibilities include lighting design, exhibition design, graphic design, publications, exhibition text, public programs, audience development, community outreach, art education, and a Web site.

Throughout, the students are steeped in the philosophy of MICA’s Curator-in-Residence, George Ciscle, who believes “the educational component is integral to the exhibition experience. All materials, programs, and community partnerships, as well as to the visitor’s history, become relevant to the content or context of the exhibition. I hope to facilitate such learning opportunities for my students, many whom will build careers as artists who exhibit, teach, or curate.”

Rebecca Nagle, a junior, fiber major at MICA from Kansas, said, “I joined the class because I am interested in the curatorial and museum processes. As an artist who desires to exhibit in galleries and museums, I felt it would be valuable to understand how that process works. Mostly, I believe that this exhibition will have a great impact on the greater Baltimore community. People often overlook artwork and a museum’s capacity to instigate change. It is exciting to be a part of that process.”