The Tiny Details You're Missing at Museums — and How to Make the Most of Your Next Visit, According to a Curator

Walking swiftly through an exhibition, casually browsing the collections and skimming the labels is how many of us move through a museum. But there are lots of elements and nuances of exhibition design that are also part of a museum's story, and taking note of details like the color of the walls, its architectural features, and how things are displayed can help you interpret the work that's being presented in a deeper way.

The newly renovated "Here, Now, and Always" (HNA) serves as the core exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC) in Santa Fe, an institution that collaborates with Native Americans across the Southwest to present their stories. Aside from its collection of some 650 objects, its layout, design, and architectural features also work to illustrate a cohesive narrative. "Native people, particularly Native people of the American Southwest, are here, and they are contemporary and will always be here," says Tony Chavarria, curator of ethnology at MIAC, about the key message the exhibition hopes to impart to its visitors. "Their art and cultures are a vital part of the American experience."

Visitors begin with a walk through a 55-foot-long tunnel, named the Emergence Tunnel. Cast in cool blue light and accompanied by the sounds of thunder and rain, the tunnel acts as a transitory space. "It prepares visitors for a change in expectations and perspectives," explains Chavarria. But little known to non-Native visitors, this architectural feature is also symbolic of the creation myth that many Native American cultures share — that they've emerged from another Earth into the current world, known as the Fourth World.

The layout of a museum is integral to creating an experience that flows, so visitors can orient themselves and seamlessly move from one section to the next without feeling lost and disrupting the rhythm of the story, says Chavarria.

The Emergence Tunnel opens into a circular space, a shape carefully chosen to reinforce the theme of the exhibition. Titled "Cycles," this area serves as the hub and boasts four displays of objects pertaining to the themes of childhood, adulthood, marriage, and rites of passage. First conceptualized as an angular space, its sharp edges were ultimately rounded off to create a more organic one, explains Chavarria. The shape also provides symbolism, as it's skillfully designed as a visual cue for visitors to think about time as a cyclical construct, and how one's lifespan embodies cycles of change and transition throughout.

"With the redesign of 'Here, Now, and Always,' we really want to make it feel like a more welcoming space that you can just hang out in without having to feel intimidated," explains Lillia McEnaney, assistant curator at MIAC, about the importance of the exhibition's design. "We want people to feel comfortable in the space, and we want Native people to be reflected in the exhibition rather than being shepherded down a huge hall." Several spokes radiate from the Cycles hub to guide visitors through the rest of the collections.

Objects are displayed throughout an exhibition in various ways to maximize their impact and reinforce the storyline, from mounting them on a wall to keeping them on the ground to showcasing them on pedestals or in glass cases. In addition, the height at which items are presented is also an essential part of ab exhibition, as it encourages a deeper connection with visitors. HNA's collection of nine pinch pots made by Native American children is displayed in a case at a kid-friendly height. "Those pots are emblematic of the way ceramics are so engrained in ancestral cultures in the Southwest," explains McEnaney. "Because they're installed fairly low for kids, hopefully, they can feel a relation to the ancestral children who made those pieces." The lower glass cases also instill in its young visitors that art is universal and accessible to all.

Color selection is perhaps one of the viewer's most overlooked elements of an exhibition. Aside from creating an aesthetically pleasing space, the colors of a museum's walls actively support the objects on view by creating a cohesive story and enhancing the pieces. HNA's walls of blue, earthy terra-cottas and pale yellows, coupled with its lighting component, are used to impart a message to visitors. "The bright colors evoke that this isn't a historic exhibition, but one of the contemporary people of the Southwest who are vibrant, just like the colors in the exhibition," says McEnaney.

Though brimming with objects that preserve the history, culture, and heritage of our society, museums hardly serve as the endpoint of a visitor's learning journey, but instead are a source of inspiration for us to seek more. "Here, Now, and Always" doesn't try to represent everything about being Indigenous in the Southwest. It's seen as an entry point so people can start thinking about these ideas, people, and communities," explains McEnaney. Beyond a museum's doors, continue the experience by perusing an institution's resources, which could be artist interviews on its YouTube channel, an online catalog, or even behind-the-scenes tours on Instagram stories.

Though taking note of certain design elements and architectural features can support museumgoers in critically interpreting the story presented in an exhibition, equipping ourselves with the willingness to learn can also maximize our visit. According to McEnaney, "Take a step back, accept what you don't know, and come in with an open mind."