Freedom of Expression: Something You Give Yourself
As the Curatorial & Exhibition Intern at the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, I was tasked with developing an exhibition about the idea of freedom of expression. Freedom of Expression: Something You Give Yourself is the result of that task.
Interpretations of the First Amendment are complex and numerous, how could I possibly create an exhibition that encompasses it all? To begin, I focused my research on connecting the KVML collection to examples of free speech. From this, my big idea was born: In conjunction with Kurt Vonnegut’s ideal of common decency, there are countless ways to exercise First Amendment rights.
As I was researching the collection, I noticed that the objects I identified with ties to free speech started forming patterns. A number of objects had something to say about
censorship, another group of objects were concerned with governmental power, and so on. These patterns became the five themes of freedom of expression that form the content of the exhibition: Speaking Out Against the Government, Caring for Your Environment, Protecting All Speech, Caring for Humanity, and Opposing Censorship.
Finally, I designed and installed a wall graphic with prompts relating to the five themes of the exhibition followed by blank spaces for visitors to exercise freedom of expression. Each graphic also contains a QR code that links to a website that provides more information about engaging with free speech.
This exhibition, which contains 12 objects from the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library's collection, opened with a virtual event in December 2020. During this event, I gave viewers a mini tour of the gallery, answered questions about the exhibit, and interviewed Dr. Mark Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut's son. The exhibition is currently on display on the first floor of the museum, and is in the process of being 3D scanned for an online virtual museum as well as being included in the upcoming audio tour of the museum.