HPU students develop and create their own exhibit

Apr. 20—HIGH POINT — A new music-themed exhibit opening this week at the High Point Museum will showcase more than High Point musicians. It will also showcase the talents of the students who created the exhibit.

"High Notes: Echoes of High Point's Musical Talent," which opens Wednesday, is the result of a partnership between the museum and a public history class offered at High Point University. Students in the class worked with museum staff to research, develop and design the exhibit as if they were working for the museum themselves.

"I wanted to provide my students with an authentic museum experience," HPU history instructor Shannon Lalor said. "It's highly unusual for undergraduates to have this level of access to museum professionals, a public history museum and, most significantly, to the exhibit design and development process."

The idea is to give history and museum studies students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with the various facets of museum operations as they develop their own exhibition.

"Many of the students in the class plan to pursue a career in the museum field, so the ability to interact with all the departments of the High Point Museum and learn directly from its professionals has been an eye-opening and affirmational experience," Lalor said.

One such student is Maggie Selman, a 20-year-old senior from Statesville.

"I'm going to graduate school to study museum education, and I knew this would be a great opportunity to learn hands-on what that environment was like — to see the different positions, to see what I like and what I don't like," Selman said. "I thought it would be a good way to dip my toes into that world."

Sara Blanchett, the museum's curator of education, served as the liaison between the museum and the history class.

"We help guide them through each step, doing things the same way we do before our own exhibit creation," Blanchett said. "They ask questions, and they come up with all the components that would make a successful exhibit."

Installation of the exhibit began Thursday, and the students will host an opening reception Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The exhibit will remain on display through the fall.

The theme of the "High Notes" exhibit, which was selected by the students, is to highlight some of the talented musicians from High Point — other than jazz legend John Coltrane.

"A lot of times we'll hear people talking about John Coltrane, but there are plenty of other artists that have had huge careers and done incredible things," Selman said.

For example, the exhibit will pay tribute to such performers as:

—Vocalist Fantasia Barrino, who won "American Idol" in 2004, won a Grammy Award in 2011 and recently starred in the remake of "The Color Purple."

—Opera and classical singer Anthony Dean Griffey, who has performed at opera houses and concert halls around the world, often sharing the stage with some of opera's most famous performers. He also has won four Grammy Awards.

—Soul singer Chester Mayfield and the Casuals, an integrated doo-wop group from the 1960s who performed throughout the Southeast. Mayfield also performed with The Casanovas, a group who recorded several singles for Apollo Records.

The exhibit also pays tribute to the High Point Central High School marching band, which has a rich history and was selected to perform at a national convention in the mid-1960s.

Blanchett said the students, who have been visiting the museum once a week to work on the exhibit, have made great progress through the semester.

"I've been impressed with their energy and their overall work ethic," she said. "It's been really cool seeing them get excited over what they're doing."

Want to go? "High Notes: Echoes of High Point's Musical Talent" opens this week at the High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave. An opening reception will be held Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the museum's lecture gallery. Admission is free. {related_content_uuid}1b878c30-63c3-445d-8d63-194721dd6aaa{/related_content_uuid}

Jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579