Roswell Reflections, Part One

When you're living your daily life, it's easy to forget how much you've actually done within it. That's certainly been true for me in Roswell, but as I'm getting ready to commence with the next chapter of my career, I've been taking a look back at my time here. While five years may not seem very long, this is this most time I've spent in one place since heading off to college, and I've experienced a lot of personal and professional growth here. Over the next few weeks then, I'll be reflecting on these experiences, not least with my time at the museum. I officially left my position on July 27th and have been packing since, but I wrote this post a few weeks earlier, when I was in reflective state and knew I would be too busy to write in August.

Let's start with exhibitions. When I arrived at the Roswell Museum in 2013, I'd been working in the museum field for about three years, and had curated or co-curated six exhibitions. In other words, I had experience, but it was limited.

Some of the shows I worked on at Shelburne Museum.

Since being in Roswell, I feel like I've gotten ten years' worth of experience in about half the time. I've curated more than thirty shows, with an average of six to eight shows per year. These exhibitions have encompassed both the permanent collection and the work of regional artists. I've worked with new media, contemporary book arts, deconstructed guitars, massive works on paper, World War II drawings, and much more.

Currents: New Media New Mexico, 2016 iteration

Signe Stuart: Fifteen, 2015

The Art of the Book, 2016

I've been involved with just about every step of the exhibition process, from initial ideas to the final installation. I've written exhibition texts, devised the physical layout of objects, and designed text panels. I've framed artwork, mounted labels, condition-checked pieces, painted walls or pedestals, and helped hang shows, right down to hammering the nails into walls when needed. I've transported artwork to and from the museum. Heck, I once transported an entire exhibition's worth of materials in the back of my car. I'm not saying my work was exhaustive, there were a lot of topics and artists I didn't get to show, but I kept the galleries full and rotating.

Guitars from Club Muse: Roger Sweet, 2015

50 Years of RAiR, 2017

Power: New Works by David Emitt Adams, 2017

Then there's the collections research and writing. I've presented the collection at six different academic conferences since 2015, and have been able to visit such places as Utah, Oklahoma, and California as a result. I've had my writing appear in journals, exhibition catalogues and brochures, most notably an essay for the catalogue for Magical and Real.

The Magical and Real catalogue

Other exhibition brochures and publications I've written for the Roswell Museum.

On a more local level, I've been a guest writer for Vision, Roswell's culture magazine, since 2014, where I've submitted monthly essays covering different objects within the permanent collection. Right now, I'm working with the museum on the first of a series of updated collections guidebooks, with this first volume exploring its WPA history. And of course there's all the work I've done on this blog.

I talked about one of our WPA posters in the January 2018 issue of Vision

Aside from conference papers, I've also been able to hone my public speaking skills through tours and lectures. I've also made regular appearances on Roswell's radio stations since 2014, so a lot of folks in town have heard me talk about the museum's various exhibitions or events.In May of this year, I even had the opportunity to make a special appearance on Colores!, a New Mexico PBS program. How cool is that?

Giving a talk about the installation of Magical and Real last month

Roswell has also been a great place to get experience in the non-curatorial aspects of museum work.  It's a commonly-said trope that museum professionals wear many hats, but that's particularly true at a place like Roswell, where a small staff manages a robust exhibition and education program. I've taught workshops, organized lectures and other education programs, and helped out with just about every major event at the museum, whether I'm supervising an educational activity, providing music with the Roswell Flute Ensemble, or even dressing up as an alien for the UFO Festival. I've helped fill in the gaps when positions have become vacant, whether it's acting as Registrar, Preparator, or even Acting Director. As a senior staff member, I've helped interview nearly every current employee at the Museum, including our Director.

Teaching a linocut workshop in February 2016

Playing music at the museum's annual Holiday Open House, 2016

Supervising the kid in a bubble station at our Family STEAM night, spring 2018

Dressed up as an alien emcee for the museum's costume contest. At the Roswell Museum, we take the phrase "wearing many hats" to a whole new level

Most significantly, perhaps, I was able to help the museum by simply providing a sense of stability. I arrived at RMAC at the onset of what turned out to be a challenging transitional period. A lot of the museum's longtime staff had either retired or otherwise left their jobs, so there was a bit of a vacuum in terms of long-range vision. There was no exhibition schedule in place when I arrived, so I had to scramble to put together shows while planning ahead for the next two or three years. Couple that with filling in for other jobs due to high turnover, and the pressing need to find an appropriate director, and you've got a pretty stressful situation.

My first show at the Museum, Subject to Change. From my arrival date I put this together in three months, from initial concept to final hanging.

I stuck with it because I believed in the collection though, and things did get better. We found an excellent director, and a strong staff. My co-workers are all very talented folks who serve the community every day through their work, whether they're overseeing collections management, organizing class schedules, hanging artwork, providing Planetarium shows, and so much more. They all work at least as hard as I do, and in the case of Education especially, twice as hard. Staff morale has improved tremendously, and we've got a ambitious strategic plan that will keep the museum growing and thriving for the next several years. If nothing else, I feel proud knowing that I helped the museum stabilize and ultimately thrive.

Whether it's a Peter Hurd exhibition, pastel workshop, a creative spring break for your kids, or an 80s-themed after hours party, we've got something for you to enjoy at RMAC. N.B. I didn't organize the workshops listed here, that's all from our wonderful Education department.

Despite all I've done, I'm even more excited for the museum's long-term future, and I've done everything I can to ensure that the next curator will be able to take this position and run with it. The exhibition schedule is now sketched out through 2020, and I've written down all the procedures that were conveyed to me orally, from how to design text panels to mounting labels. In short, whoever comes in next should have all the tools they need to be a better curator than I have been.

Still feeling indifferent about the whole UFO thing though

If this post sounds like I'm bragging, it's because I am. In spite of the daily frustrations I've experienced with my job (and really, who doesn't?), I've gotten a lot out of my experiences here, and I like to think the museum has mutually benefited from my presence. I take a lot of pride in my work here, and I'll leave knowing that I've left the museum in better shape than I found it.

The museum has changed a lot since I first visited in 2013, and very much for the better.

My work at RMAC, however, comprises only part of what I've been up to here. Next week we'll take a look back at my extracurricular activities.