Museum Practicum - History, Memory, Material: Visualizing Global Narratives

Coming in 2027 to The Alfond Inn

Drawn entirely from the Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, this exhibition explores global narratives through three entry points: history, memory, and material. Artworks directly employ various histories, drawing upon artistic traditions, pre-contact indigenous pasts, colonial encounters, evolving civil rights, and religious practices. Within memory, artists explore longing for a real or imagined home, the practice of inherited traditions, and oral legacies and folklore. Finally, artworks that directly engage material draw attention to the process of making: from beadwork, basketry, to ink and paint, these artworks dialogue and rewrite global narratives through their visual and material allusions.

Each artwork invites viewers to uncover layered meanings and wrestle withambiguity, provoking questions of how each artwork grapples with its distinct global narrative. In times of uncertainty, this exhibition encourages viewers to engage in radical empathy, to learn from experiences outside of our own to expand our understanding of shared humanity.

The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art is an assemblage of artworks selected to foster contemplative thought, expanding the mission of the liberal arts at Rollins College. This exhibition aims to visualize just a few global narratives, activated by critical thought, visualizing how individual stories can speak to universal themes. These artworks offer various perspectives on history, memory, and material, offering entry points into open-ended conversations. Viewers are asked to reflect on their individual stories and unravel their complexities and uncertainties. In doing so, perspectives resting on intellect, emotion, and physicality lie within reach. History, Memory, Material enables an exploration of global narratives through contemporary art.

History, Memory, Material: Visualizing Global Narratives is the first thematic exhibition at the Alfond Inn. Curated by Dr. MacKenzie Moon Ryan, Professor of Art History at Rollins College with Claire Classon ‘27 and Ana Ortega ‘27, exhibition interpretation is provided by art history capstone students in Fall 2026 Museum Studies Practicum.

Images:

Top: Jeffrey Gibson (American, b. 1972) Upside Down (detail), 2023, Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, plastic beads, artificial sinew, inset to custom wood frame, 74 3/4 x 64 3/4 x 2 3/4 in, The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Rollins Museum of Art. Gift of Barbara ‘68 and Theodore ‘68 Alfond. 2023.1.25. © Jeffrey Gibson

Right: Nina Chanel Abney (American, b. 1982) Helen with the Drip, 2020 Acrylic and spray-paint on canvas 48 x 36 in. The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Rollins Museum of Art. Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond. 2020.1.25 © Nina Chanel Abney. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York