Project Thesis by Brooke McCulloch
Museums often develop capital campaigns to fund projects that have widespread impacts across the institution such as building renovations and exhibit development. To engage potential donors, an institution can use their design intent and exhibit concepts to show the products that the campaign will fund and provide a vision for how changes will impact the institution and its community. The purpose of this project was to create an exhibit framework for the ASUW Shell House within the capacity of the Next 100 Years capital campaign. The exhibit framework was designed to allow for flexibility so the exhibit concepts can easily conform to any changes that may occur to the interior spaces of the building once an architectural plan is selected. To create this document, best practices for exhibit development were reviewed and members of the ASUW Shell House advisory board were asked for input on content that should be included in permanent exhibits. The framework was developed to record these ideas and present them in a document that can be given to potential donors. The framework shows the features of the building that will need to be preserved and the positive impact that including exhibits will have in preserving and teaching the history of the Shell House to anyone who comes through its doors.
Citation
McCulloch, B. (2020). Connecting History to Community A Framework for Permanent Exhibits at the ASUW Shell House. [Unpublished master’s thesis project]. University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Keywords
project, community, exhibit framework, donor engagement, exhibit development, community engagement