IN THE
BY MEGAN KAMERICK | PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA PROCTER, COURTESY OF ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM
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useum exhibitions, filled with artifacts out of time and place, must be carefully crafted to tell a story that showcases not only the items but also their significance. If museum exhibition designers do their job well, you’ll likely never notice their work—you’ll wander through, enjoying the subject without a thought for the lighting, colors, flow, or object arrangements. Encouraging the casual movement of people through a space requires savvy technique. Stephen W. Hutchins, exhibit designer at the Albuquerque Museum, has been working in the field since 1993. Since relocating to New Mexico in 2013, he has designed exhibitions for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, New Mexico Museum of Art, Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center, inspired by the cultural wealth of the state. He joined Albuquerque Museum in late 2016, and 2017’s Hollywood Southwest, depicting the long history of television and moviemaking in New Mexico, was his
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Objects out of time and place shine through creative and thoughtful exhibition design first exhibition. “I designed it so that when people moved through, it was like film going through a projector,” Hutchins says. Visitors might have missed the metaphor, but it was an effective way to move them through the history and the exhibition. Hutchins works closely with graphic artist Robin Hesse and the curators to develop a visual plan for each exhibition. As a team they look at numerous issues, including the content and the aesthetics of the presentation, protection for the artifacts, and how the audience will interact with the exhibition, which includes safety and accessibility. “For me, every exhibition that comes here has its own personality,” Hesse says. “I feel it’s my job to figure out what that personality is and use the tools I have to express that.” That can include choosing fonts and colors on the descriptions as well as selecting the signature image for each show. “A lot of times I’ll talk to the art curator or history curator to get a sense of how they feel about the show and then we work together. Stephen and I talk about what colors evoke a certain feeling or time.”