The McClung Museum will unveil its interactive pop-up museum at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at Circle Park.
The 18-foot-tall structure, known as the 1-452 Pop-Up, was created in collaboration with UT’s College of Architecture and Design and is designed to illustrate the journeys that all UT students undergo throughout their college experience.
“College students are on a journey that shapes their lives—coming to campus from a home near or far—to build a future for themselves and their loved ones,” said Katy Malone, curator of academic programs for the museum. “With the pop-up, we want to celebrate those journeys as one of the things that unite our Vols.”
A pop-up museum is a mobile defined space that exists outside of a traditional museum. It allows for makeshift exhibitions, learning, exploration, and dialogue that can take place anywhere and at any time.
The 1-452 Pop-Up will be on display until 3 p.m. with help from volunteers from Manthan, UT’s Indian student association, and the Latin sorority Lambda Theta Alpha.
“This project has provided a unique and valuable opportunity to collaborate with the McClung Museum,” said Brian Ambroziak, associate professor of architecture and the designer of the pop-up museum.
“Design projects such as this allow faculty, staff, and students to be exposed to the important role that an institution like the McClung Museum plays in delivering valuable knowledge and promoting diversity through its exhibits and permanent collections,” Ambroziak said.
Ambroziak’s architectural work embraces open-ended interpretation, the passage of time, viewer interaction, and digital media, which all combine in the 1-452 Pop-Up. The translucent spherical structure will contain Polaroid pictures of individuals and findings important to the McClung Museum. Actors will be present to perform 11 scenes depicting the work of a modern-day archaeologist, which includes surveying the sphere, digging up the pictures, and hanging them in the structure.
Students who visit the pop-up museum will be able to participate in a social media exercise where they can share experiences from their time in college.
“Visiting and engaging with the 1-452 Pop-Up provides the UT community the opportunity to share their own journey stories while exploring those of their neighbors,” Malone said.
More information about the innovative educational work of the McClung Museum and the College of Architecture and Design is available online.
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CONTACT:
Brian Canever (865-974-0937, bcanever@utk.edu)
Zack Plaster (865-773-8845, zack@utk.edu)