Capstone Project Examples

Connect with my Loss: The Museum of Broken Relationships as an Empathetic Insti…

By Melissa Mayhew (2021) As contemporary museums increasingly desire to add empathetic dimensions to their exhibits and receive the benefits of relating with their audiences, there is an assumption that it is the content itself that triggers an empathetic response. While this is often the case, empathy also occurs between audiences and museums as much as between audiences and content. This is because empathy is a response centered on relationships. This paper examines one such museum that exemplifies this: The Museum of Broken Relationships. By collapsing the distinction between collection and exhibition, visitor and artist, the MoBR encourages a sense of empowerment and expression rarely possible in traditional museum environments.

A Museum in Possession of a Nazi-Looted Painting: A Case Study

By Conner Mulkey (2019) Since the end of World War II, Holocaust survivors and the families of Holocaust victims have searched for, identified and sought the return of artworks stolen from their collections by the Nazis. For as long as these families have sought the repatriation of these artworks, however, museums and individuals who have found themselves in possession of such artworks after their theft have expended every legal argument and loophole available to retain possession of the works. This case study examines the history of a single painting, Camille Pissarro’s La bergère rentrant des moutons (Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep): its theft during the Nazi occupation of France in 1941, the strange journey it took before being donated to the University of Oklahoma in 2000, and the controversy that was sparked when the daughter of the original owners (Léone Meyer) sued for its return.

Betwixt and Between: Bridging the Gap between Field and Repository

By Meghan Grizzle (2019) All too often, archaeologists have viewed curation as a process that manages, rather than investigates, archaeological collections. The resulting curation crisis is the result of a serious imbalance between the continued generation of field collections and a corresponding lack of standards, best practices, resources and facilities devoted to accessioning, analyzing, reporting, curating and otherwise caring for archaeological collections. Researchers mistakenly prioritize ‘interpretation at the trowel’s edge’ with emphasis on excavation, field work and subsequent research, without considering the downstream issues of data standards, best practices and how and where the objects they excavate will be stored (collection management). Researchers, educators, and the general public will remain unable to reap the benefits of their cultural and historical significance until archaeologists and museum professionals can work together to determine a long-term strategy for the efficient management and care of these collections.

The Indigenous Arts Archive: Indigenizing the Spencer Museum of Art’s Database

By Katelyn Trammell (2019) The Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas stewards over 3,000 works by Native North American peoples. Spencer employees have documented these objects, along with another 7,500 art works in the Global Indigenous Collections. However, for objects made by Indigenous peoples, there is more to the story than what museum professionals can tell. The Indigenous Arts Archive, on online web application hosted by the Spencer hopes to remedy this issue. The goals of the Indigenous Arts Archive (IAA), are to include Indigenous voices in the Spencer’s database, MuseumPlus; to treat Indigenous knowledge as equal to academic knowledge; to build relationships with Indigenous communities and individuals; and to increase the use of the Spencer’s Native North American collections.

Content Preservation and Digitization of Maps Housed in the KU Natural History …

By Ross Kerr (2017) The purpose of this research is to explain the obstacles museums face in preserving map collections, as well as the steps museums can take to overcome these obstacles. The research begins with a brief history of paper conservation of maps in museums and libraries, and digitization of maps. Next, there is an explanation of the theoretical framework/approach that is used in this project. Following that is a presentation of a SWOT analysis of the archaeological map collection held by the KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum. The first two components of the SWOT analysis, strengths and weaknesses, focus on advantages and shortcomings of the collection in its current state. The last two components, opportunities and threats, focus respectively on the benefits that can be expected from preserving the map collection, and the obstacles that may hinder process. Finally, the study outlines a procedure for preserving and digitizing the archaeological maps held by the KU Biodiversity Institute, in order to expand accessibility to the collection.

Controversy and Collaboration: Recommendations for Using the Participatory Muse…

By Rebecca Younker (2017) Contemporary American society is fraught with racial tension, making representation of all races and cultures an especially poignant issue. Museums are places where comprehensive narrative interpretations can result in facilitated dialogue among visitors of different races and cultures. This can, in turn, lead individuals to a deeper understanding of their identities in the context of today’s society and develop an ability for interracial and intercultural communication. This paper explores why using the participatory museum model will help cultural institutions embrace and learn from potentially controversial exhibits by including diverse perspectives of communities outside the museum. This is based on the premise that collaboration and communication with diverse groups of people will allow those involved to discuss ideas openly and work through points of contention as they arise.

Capstone Project Examples

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