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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
Lifestyles

Main Gallery exhibit maps Nebraska

Guest Author
Betty Kjelson portrays parts of Nebraska in her book of sketchings called “Across Nebraska by Canoe, 1982.” — Photo by Ashley Swanson
Betty Kjelson portrays parts of Nebraska in her book of sketchings called “Across Nebraska by Canoe, 1982.” — Photo by Ashley Swanson

The exhibition in Memorial Hall’s Main Gallery, being put on by the Sheldon Museum of Art, is inviting contributions.

The exhibit, “Picturing Nebraska” which will be showing in the Main Gallery until Sept. 25, was set up last week. Many people don’t realize the amount of work that goes into an exhibit. In an interview with Sarah Feit, assistant curator of education, she described the several months of work.

Putting together a traveling exhibition, specifically, takes many months. The process includes research of the pieces, to see what kind of conditions they can endure, as well as getting the pieces to the move. Each piece has its own special box made with what looks like randomly placed styrofoam. However, this minimizes jostling and moving. Each work of art is also glazed over or covered with plexiglass for better protection. Subjects that are in good enough conditions for traveling are chosen. Once all this is said and done, then comes the actual traveling and the arrangement of the pieces, which takes about three hours. During the arrangements, the artists have little control over what goes where and those in charge of the gallery get to choose the arrangement. “We get to play with different groupings,” Feit said. One wall will be dedicated to images of Nebraska landscape that includes everything from realistic photos to more abstract pieces. The second wall will be dedicated to Liz Ingraham’s project mapping Nebraska.

Ingraham is asking visitors of the exhibit what Nebraska means to them. She will put the comments into a show that will be featured at the Sheldon in Lincoln. Comment cards will be provided at the entrance of the gallery.

With 15-20 works following a story and three themes to keep the story going, Feit and the Sheldon crew are flexible when setting up the exhibit. According to Feit, Memorial Hall’s Main Gallery is one of the bigger spaces they have worked with. There, they have room to spread out the pieces. “The exhibit will always look different,” Feit said.