Director places art at center of conversations
DELAWARE — In August, when she became director of Ohio Wesleyan University’s Ross Art Museum, Erin Fletcher began seeking ways for the museum to act as a “community forum rather than just a temple for art.”
In light of the national division sparked by the 2016 presidential election, the time seemed ideal to position the museum as a place for nonpartisan discussion.
“With Radical Love & Fierce Resistance” — the first of three installations in an exhibit series called “Inside/Outside” — features a selection of banners on the museum exterior and conversation starters in a hallway inside. Fletcher
developed the installation with Minneapolis artist and print-shop owner Sam Gould.
The exhibit, set to run through June 2, suggests four paths for participants: Read the explanatory booklet, post a question in the hallway, hold an event or conversation at the museum and stream it on an FM freeform radio platform developed by Gould.
The questions — most of them posted by Ohio Wesleyan students, Fletcher said — largely reflect contemporary political concerns:
■ “I’m an immigrant, 10th-generation. Are you a first-generation immigrant? Second? Third?”
“Why do our courts ■ favor the wealthy?”
■ “Why do you care about my body?”
■ “How can we protect our democracy from this presidency?”
The colorful banners outdoors carry words such as “foster” and “cheer” and, in sign language, “defend” and “resist.”
Fletcher, 37, was exhibitions coordinator for the Ohio State University Libraries and Billy Ireland Cartoon Art Museum before she succeeded longtime Ross Museum director Justin Kronewetter.
Fletcher acknowledged that tension frequently occurs between liberal-arts institutions of higher education and their surrounding communities. Creating a safe and open space for people to come together is an important function of a museum, she said.
In addition, Fletcher said, “social-engagement projects at museums are really on the rise. My role as a museum director is to support learning and public access.”
“With Radical Love” will be followed in the fall by a new exhibit by Susanna Crum and Tiffany Carbonneau, artists who will conduct archival and community-based research to create an architecturalscale video projection on a building in Delaware.
The final exhibit in the series — with content to be determined — will open in the spring of 2018.
All the while, regular exhibits of artworks will be presented at the Ross Museum.
Fletcher said she is struck by “how powerful and agile small university museums can be.”
“You’re surrounded by a community of thinkers. You should be able to leverage that to create a powerful museum.”