Food on the Move

Project Leader Meeting with Richard and Erin at JWU

December 1, 2009, 11:00 a.m.

In attendance: Richard Gutman, Erin Williams, Elena Gonzales, Janet Zwolinski, and Sara
Emmenecker

• Creative Services:
o Richard met with creative services, they are interested in doing more work with the
museum, but their time at the mercy of other departments. Responsible for work for
all four campuses of the University. They said that this is a good time for them and
that they can design the exhibit. There is a possibility that a crisis could arise. If they
commit to it, they’ll follow through. At the next meeting, Richard will discuss
timeline with them.
o They want to get into design as early as possible. We need to have content before we
meet with them. They can take early content to produce the graphic look and feel. It
will be a challenge for them to package so many different things and such a wide
timeline. Fine a connecting thread to incorporate in design. Not ready to start talking
to them yet.
o On February 1, we plan to give them a starting point with preliminary content. We’ll
know they types of objects that we’ll be using. There will be written material, even if
it is not yet honed down to the label format.
o By March 15, we should be reviewing creative services’ designs, not finalizing text.
o Plan to give them the content in phases.
o If we can give them an overview, i.e. number of panels. Flesh out particulars of
content as we go along. Determine how the space will be divided up with what we
want to cover. What are the components? How much space is there to tell the story
and fit in the objects? Create a floor plan, the amount of space will determine how
much we need designed.
o Number of labels per object and number of panels.
o Come up with method of how pieces are identified: label for each object, or one large
label with numbered objects.
o Or labels could be done in-house at the museum.
o Include all elements of design in master plan and specify what is being designed by
creative services and what is being designed by the museum. Limit use of creative
services.
o March 8/12 is too late to get content to creative services. Richard will ask them what
a reasonable deadline would be. Plan it so that all they have to do at the end is plug in
the text. Get them the images and the overall plan.
o Erin suggests getting material to creative services at least two weeks in advance.
o While the next two weeks we are occupied with final exams, after we can sketch out
our master plan for the exhibit.
• Research is being organized by mode of transportation. The exhibit will be organized by
threads/questions. Each mode of transportation has a lead curator with a research assistant.
 There needs to be a period of discovery before decisions are made regarding what we’re
going to value. The objects and stories will guide the design. But without some guidance, we
risk having the research for the different modes go in different directions. We’ll use Erin’s
excel sheets as a starting point.
• JWU is interested in displaying uniforms
• Class issues play out in varied experiences for the different modes of transportation.
• On blog, post crossover links between different modes of transportation. Help to establish
crossover threads.
• Leave room for wildcard threads/questions that come out through our research. Encourage
researchers to document intriguing stories found in research.
• Objects Research:
o Erin requests that researcher email her the scope of what they’re looking for. She’ll
do the database search and ask colleagues for input on potential related objects. Give
the subject matter and the time period. Then come in, and go through the objects
together, which will then lead to something else.
o Erin is looking for a way to give access to a password-protected read-only database
for outside researchers.
o When a researcher is on site, Erin does not need to be with them every moment. She
helps pull the objects, then sits you down in the archives.
o If looking at a specific time period, it helps to work with multiple people because she
can pull all related material at once. Searches for the same mode of transportation
could also be done at the same time.
o For each transportation mode, it’s likely one person will be doing object research and
one will be done historical background research.
o As soon as people have a subject matter and time period, researchers should email
Erin. Then appointments can be made ASAP.
o At least give people, all working on different subjects, will be working with Erin. It is
fine for people to be contacting her individually and then coming in on their own.
o We can plan to be here an entire day. Better not to devote a whole week, because
there are other projects that Erin needs to be working on.
o The amount of time researching at JWU depends on how detailed you need to get. For
instance, if you want to look at all airline menus, you could spend hours. It depends
on how much the objects mean to the story. Researchers need to not get distracted by
objects that are extraneous to the story. Getting an overview of data will take longer.
Depends how much we want to put it in perspective. The amount used in the
exhibition is a distillation, and a comparatively small amount of information. Need to
get the big picture in order to determine what should be conveyed to the viewer.
o Look through menus to identify trends. Identify important themes and concepts, i.e.
marketing, food safety and product identification. Important contextual information.
We’re encouraged to get at this level of detail, have reasoning behind our choices.
o Researchers will probably want to come in the last three weeks of January. We don’t
want to disrupt Erin’s schedule.
o Borrowing objects needs to be done as soon as possible. Request should go out
jointly, work with Erin.
• Object loans: Steve subjects that we consider making choices (like objects) that will help
keep costs down. For example, new cases and object loans may be expensive. JWU doesn’t
request a lot of object loans because it is difficult and time consuming. There may be places
in New England where we can go in person to request items from their collections.
• Budget: JNBC is providing a $10,000 grant. Museum is providing in-kind resources.
Anything beyond $10,000 needs to come from the museum. The museum does have money
available, their fiscal year ends June 30. Maintain communication to keep costs under control
• If we need to create barriers, something creative can be conceived. But Richard prefers the
exhibit to be more open.
• Objects: table and wicker chairs with setting (train), railroad kitchen, airplane tray-table/exit
row lighting/airplane galley – Erin will start brainstorming contacts for accessing objects
• Next Steps:
o Research Appointments with Erin (include requests from Erin’s spreadsheet),
museum is only closed week between Christmas and New Years
o Richard to Contact Creative Services re: timeline
o February 1 Deadline for skeletal overview of exhibit
o Curatorial meeting before break: discuss use of blog, communication with
programming team, research appointments with Erin, reiterate scope issue
• Exhibit moving to a different space.
• After research is completed, transfer responsibility of organizing research to answer each of
the narrative threads to the curatorial leaders.

Meeting adjourned 12:30 p.m.