Welcome to the People's Pop-Up!

Julia Giguere is the 2023-2025 Post-bacc Fellow in Marketing and Communications.

Why can’t I select works for an exhibition? 
Why can’t I be a documentary filmmaker? 
Why can’t I design signage?  

These questions echoed in my head as I started research for my fellowship capstone project.

To answer one, I can select works for an exhibition, and so can you. I designed the People’s Pop-up, SCMA’s first exhibition curated by and for our audiences. Using digital polling, you can choose the pieces included in this food-themed “potluck”.

For many, going to a museum is a communal experience. Maybe you are with friends or loved ones. Or on a class field trip. Maybe you decided to go alone, and are sharing a gallery with strangers. Not unlike a meal in a restaurant, you exist in a space together.

The People’s Pop-up builds on the idea of community, placing decisions directly in the hands of our guests. You pick the pieces and you set the menu. 

My role as a Post-bacc Fellow in Marketing and Communications offers me the opportunity to function as a member of the marketing department, as well as a new professional in the museum space. Since I came in seeking a breadth of knowledge when it came to museum function, a goal of mine was to work with each department.

My capstone project will take many shapes, some already completed like our new visitor guide, some that need your help like this pop-up, and others in early stages of production, like a documentary that gives a behind the scenes look at our collections team. All together, this project will be multi-medium, interdepartmental, and crowd sourced.

This fellowship has afforded me the incredible opportunity to ask big questions. About museums, about this field, and about where I may best fit.

Luckily, you only have to answer one question today - what pieces should we put in our pop-up?

Polling will be open from July 1st - July 26th. The voting form is linked here, on our website, and on our social media channels. The exhibition will be on display August 9th in the museum’s Cunningham Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings and Photographs during our August Second Friday program.