Preserve WV Stories

Just One Final Touch

8/21/2024

  An important part of caring for a museum is exhibit maintenance. While it may not seem like it, little touches go a long way in enhancing the museum experience. An exhibit is meant to draw the eye of visitors and make them want to engage with the space. While having an interesting artifact can go a long way, its potential is ultimately wasted if the exhibit feels unfinished or boring. In February, the museum closed for renovations to bring new life into the space. We started to rearrange exhibits and storage areas. One of the goals of these renovations was to make the museum more inviting for visitors. A project that I undertook to aid in this goal and make exhibits more visually appealing was lining display cabinets with fabric liners. Previously artifacts looked like they got lost on the shelves or there was nothing visually exciting to help draw in visitors. My idea was to add color to these cases so that the objects stand out.

      With a tight budget, I had to be creative with what was on hand. Luckily, our local theater had replaced their theater curtains, leaving plenty of extra fabric. The heavy curtains had to be wheeled around on a dolly and cut into sections to make the process. I found all of the other supplies needed for the project in the museum. On days that the museum was closed, I made my workspace in a corner in the back.

      Drawing on my sewing experience, I created patterns for multiple types of glass shelves. I made patterns out of the spare copy paper, measuring them to the shelves and bases of the display cases. Taking sections of the curtain, I traced the patterns using a white crayon as my tailor chalk. After cutting out the piece, I hemmed the raw edges with masking tape. I chose tape to assemble the pieces instead of sewing them together to make the process faster and easier. Since the liners would be constantly moving around, tape was sufficient. Finally, I put the finished piece into the display cabinet.

      It was a long and at times tedious process, but eventually, I made about 37 lines in varying shapes and sizes. The results were well worth the effort. The artifacts stand out against the liners and I was proud of what was accomplished. I work mainly with collection accessions, so most of the time I’m on the computer. While I enjoy this, it can be hard to feel a sense of accomplishment when all I have to show for my work is still on a screen. Working with my hands and creating something that would be used was rewarding. I’m excited for visitors to have a more enriching experience at our museums thanks to all the little details added to our displays.