Just Imported: Global Trade in 1700s New England

Project: Just Imported: Global Trade in 1700s New England

Name: Diane Richard, Engagement Strategist/Writer; Kristine Thayer, Engagement Strategist/Designer
Division/Department: Audience Engagement/Design & Editorial
Other Mia departments involved: Curatorial, Learning Innovation, MAT
Project date(s): May 2016–April 2017

Audience/user: Mia visitors

Project goals: To reinvigorate an under-visited period room as part of a larger, multi-gallery effort to reimagine Mia’s 14 period rooms called the Living Rooms Initiative. With Providence Parlor, we hoped to place the past in dialogue with the present while simultaneously broadening the conversation to include other histories—of marginalized people, of the senses, of time itself. We wanted to give Mia visitors a brand new way to explore a period room that has been part of the museum for nearly a century.

Project description:

Originally installed in 1923, the Providence Parlor was the first American period room installed at Mia. A number of “Living Rooms” projects had been undertaken prior to the installation of “Just Imported.” At the time, the Providence Parlor was a barren, under-visited period room devoid of life and references to the individuals who once owned it; visitors tended to overlook it entirely. Interior furnishings came secondary to the Providence Parlor’s status as an architecturally important room, intended to showcase design work such as the impressive arched pediment doorway above Corinthian pilasters. The room had a bright, anachronistic light, muslin coverings on the windows that concealed potential “views,” and one narrow access doorway that wasn’t inviting.

But the Providence Parlor has a rich history: it once occupied prime real estate on a wharf in 1700s Providence, R.I. Its owners operated a prosperous business that imported and exported goods by sea. Their store, The Sign of the Golden Eagle, offered a resplendent selection of imported fabrics, spices, housewares, and rum. Their market was the world, and their market was made possible by trade winds, war profiteering, and the labor of enslaved people.  So to immerse visitors in this story while still showcasing the room itself, our strategic concept was to restore the parlor, along with its wharfside setting, back to life through a variety of sensory experiences. A naturalistic soundscape immerses visitors in the sounds and streetlife of 1700s Providence. There’s also a discovery cabinet of mercantile curios, including pull-out drawers that show examples of trade goods into Providence’s increasingly globalized economy, on top of which sits a cupboard with liftable drawers to entice visitors to smell the herbs and spices that made their way through Providence’s trade route. The seagulls on the ceiling and animated shadow puppets in the parlor’s “windows” are historically inspired characters intended to round out one’s experience of the parlor not just as a room, but as a representation of Providence’s place in the global market.

An intercept survey of 102 museum visitors taken before and after the reimagination shows that after the reinterpretation of the Providence parlor, many more visitors mentioned something about the people associated with the room and their stories (a 40% increase). There was also an increase in “I” statements (40% increase) that compared the visitors’ lives to those of the room’s inhabitants. Those statements demonstrate a personal connection to the room’s original owners and historic context.

 

Evaluation tools: Intercept interviews conducted by University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement  to collect data from museum visitors before and after the reinterpretation.

Resources used:

The genesis of this project starts in London, with the theatrical production company 1927. Funded by a Roberta Mann Innovation Award, a grant that funds Mia staff to seek innovation from beyond museum industry practice, Diane Richard, writer/editor, and Kris Thayer, graphic designer, spent a week in March 2016 with the founders of 1927 to learn theatrical storytelling techniques, particularly the art of merging digitally recorded puppetry with live, on-stage performances. The conceptual work for the Providence Parlor itself spun out from there.

Research materials included Mia object accession files, which included accumulated scholarship by various curators over several decades; archival materials related to the Russell brothers and their mercantile business; and online archives, such as the Adverts 250 Project, the Rhode Island Historical Society collection site, and journal Rhode Island History. Using Youtube and other sites, Kris taught herself how to make shadow puppets, which were lasercut in a local makers lab. Mia’s Media & Technology (Mike Dust, Ryan Lee, Xiaolu Wang, and Brian Tighe) contributed their A/V storytelling and technical expertise. Under the direction of exhibition designer Michael Lapthorn, carpenter Daniel Samuelson-Roberts handcrafted the discovery cabinet; intentionally anachronistic so as not to blend in with the historic room, it secures myriad contents—liquids, textiles, wares—while making them approachable and enticing. And Curatorial and Learning Innovation team members (Alex Bortolot and Juline Chevalier) made sure the interpretive treatment was rooted in history and fact.

Expenses were largely limited to electronic devices (four 72″ monitors), cabinetry and shadow puppet fabrication, and purchases of period-appropriate reproductions of items advertised for sale at The Sign of the Golden Eagle.

Reflection

What worked? The treatment successfully enlivened the room. Today, visitors can be seen entering the space, engaging with the elements, and leaving with a better understanding of the room’s original owners and how they built their wealth.

What were the challenges? The process was harried, to be sure. Ideally, we would have built in time to test the elements prior to opening, especially for accessibility concerns. While positioning non-curatorial staff as project and creative leads led to effective and innovative installation and interpretative approaches, it also asked them to execute their plans without the benefit of first-hand experience while completing their regularly scheduled work. The cross-divisional team that coalesced around the project helped in this regard; nonetheless, each member was stretched thin. Imagining how each disparate element would coalesce in such a small space, at the very last minute, was also challenging. But, miraculously, it did.  

What was surprising? The effectiveness and fun of cross-divisional collaboration. Working from a creative design framework, the project leaders presented to the team three initial concepts, of which was dramatic if not completely historically accurate. With curatorial guidance, the “Just Imported” concept emerged from the other two, proving to satisfy both experiential and scholarly priorities.

Relevance

At Mia: Personally, we’re extremely proud to have been enlisted to generate creative concepts for this curatorial-intensive project. The project did allow us to flex our storytelling muscles. Having the opportunity to leap beyond our traditional roles as writer/editor (Diane) and graphic designer (Kris) was enormously gratifying. Other Mia staff should recognize the innovation and creative friction possible in cross-divisional experimentations such as this.

In the museum field: How might this project/research impact the practices of other museum professionals? What advice would you give to someone in your position at another museum embarking on this project?

Twofold: Reanimating a moribund period room is a valuable endeavor for visitors and museum staff alike. It takes more time and greater teamwork than either of us expected, but that sweetens the rewards. Also, seeking creative input from unexpected corners can yield surprising results and build in-house capacity for future initiatives. It pays to broaden your team beyond the usual suspects.

Public: Why does this matter to a general visitor? Why should they care about this?

Visitors should care because everything we do is with them in mind. Why do we use museum objects and period rooms to tell stories if not to engage, educate, and, possibly, delight them? The Providence Parlor, pre-reinstallation, was a dead zone. Today, it’s a vibrant spot for visitors to inhabit with their own senses, make observations, and walk away with a greater understanding of the underlying mechanics of transatlantic trade during the 1700s.