On Feb. 13, a new exhibition entitled “Let’s Talk: Collection Conversations” opened at the Flaten Art Museum, focusing on treating museum collections as a space for conversations rather than conclusions. The exhibit was curated by St. Olaf students in the fall semester course Art History 282: Making Museums Matter in collaboration with museum staff.
The class, offered both semesters of the 2025-26 academic year, is taught by Assistant Professor of Art and Art History Christina Spiker, with the fall semester students working to curate the exhibit and spring semester students supporting the exhibition with programming and facilitating conversations throughout the semester.
The right side of the gallery features the curated art, centered around five new acquisitions to the museum’s collection, which are tied together with existing pieces to create themes surrounding dialogue and curiosity. Another side of the gallery is set up to showcase the flow between four different themes: “Movement Through Mediums,” “Where Light Unfolds,” “Colliding Without Compromise,” and “Portraits of Power.” The other side includes a couch and a living room setting with prompts and materials to prompt the conversation about the collection.
Each piece of art includes a description written by the students themselves, and QR codes attached to the museum plaques connect to videos of students having conversations exploring how the pieces fit together and explaining why they were included in the exhibition.
Spiker explained how a pre-existing partnership between herself, Director of Flaten Art Museum Jane Becker Nelson, and Director of the Svoboda Center for Civic Engagement Alyssa Melby, made the collaboration possible: “There happened to be a vacancy in the museum that allowed us to work with Flaten as the community partner for the course,” Spiker said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “Our goal is to help people understand how diverse museum jobs can be. They involve collaboration with libraries, cultural centers, non-profits, and more.”
In her opening remarks, Spiker recognized the role of Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) in the exhibition: “The curatorial project is grounded in civic practice … The exhibition also builds on previous ACE work with student-led acquisitions projects, initiatives that gave students the opportunity to help shape the future of the collection itself.”
Liz Bunnell ’26 took the class in the fall and was involved with the curation of the exhibit. In an interview with The Olaf Messenger, she said, “It was really exciting when I first walked in and saw our part of the show.” When asked about her hopes for guests of the exhibit, Bunnell said, “Art is about taking how we look at things and changing [our perspective], and I think people should take this idea outside of the museum.”
The collection is beautiful and thought-provoking, with pieces that can be looked at from multiple perspectives, inspiring conversations instead of just conclusions. The exhibition encapsulates its goal of collaboration, creating a space to embrace contrasting ideas, curiosity, and engagement with the museum.
