by Sayquan Prescott
When I went to visit the Souls Grown Deep exhibition in Philadelphia with my colleagues at American Folk Art Museum, I didn’t know what to expect. I had never been to Philadelphia. We arrived at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the first thing I noticed were the stairs that Rocky ran up in the movie “Rocky” and the statue to the right.
We first met with John Vick, the Collections Project Manager at the Philadelphia Museum. Vick told us about his experience working with other creative people to build the Souls Grown Deep exhibition. He also mentioned how passionately he believes in the tour experience to connect the art to visitors.
After meeting with Vick, we visited the Souls Grown Deep exhibition. I saw many of the artists who are represented in the American Folk Art Museum’s collection like Lonnie Holley and Thornton Dial Sr. My favorites were all of the quilts by the Pettways from Gee’s Bend.
We then met Michelle Millar Fisher, the Assistant Curator of Design at the Philadelphia Museum who was also AFAM Assistant Curator Steffi Ibis Duarte’s mentor. Fisher showed us around the museum and pointed out how they plan on using the space for the next exhibition which starts in September.
She then took us upstairs to the offices where they design the exhibitions using miniature models of the space. We also do this at the American Folk Art Museum. Her colleagues were all using design programs like Adobe Illustrator and CAD software for laser cutting. I liked seeing their work environment because it gave me confidence that I’m on the right path. The skills that they were using in the office are skills that I was introduced to in design school.
Overall, the trip was unforgettable. Thank you to Steffi for making this happen.
Museum Career Internship Program 