New Narratives for Ancient Art at The Art Institute of Chicago

The interpretation department at the Art Institute of Chicago collaborates closely with curators to develop exhibition narratives and didactics that are engaging, accessible, and relevant to visitors. We follow a flexible framework that we adapt to the unique needs of each project and the work styles of each collaborator. For Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, we forged a close and collaborative relationship with the curators to shape the exhibition years in advance. Over two years, we worked closely to develop exhibition narratives that would make ancient sculpture feel exciting and fresh. We created a pithy thesis statement that could encompass the breadth of this material and underscore our overarching goal of making the exhibition material fresh and relevant: “Ancient Romans lived in a visual culture that resonated with our own.” With this in mind, each step in our interpretive planning involved connecting all aspects of this exhibition to that big idea.

We worked especially closely with curators, but also with digital content teams and designers, to ensure that this ethos was consistent across all text, media, and visual design. This resulted in exhibition didactics that were playful and informative, and appropriate for multigenerational audiences. We experimented with new interpretive tools, featured a diverse range of voices in the audio tour, and created visual resources that provided accessible context for ancient artworks. This case study explores strategies for long-lead interpretive planning for museum exhibitions and introduces new processes that can benefit visitor outcomes.