Christie, Exhibit Finder
1. List of Participants
Project Director
Ashley Christie
George Mason University
MA Art History Student
Email: achris19@masonlive.gmu.edu
Art Museums and Galleries
(See Appendix A for complete list)
Aaron Gallery
Addison Ripley Fine Art
Adamson Gallery
Alex Gallery
American Painting
American University Museum
Art Museum of the Americas
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Burton Marinkovich Fine Art
Civilian Art Projects
Corcoran Gallery of Art
Daughter of the American Revolution Museum
Dumbarton House
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
Foundry Gallery
Freer Gallery of Art
General Federation of Women’s Clubs Headquarters
Geographic Museum
George Washington University Art Galleries
Georgetown University Art Galleries
Hillwood Estate Museum & Gardens
Hillyer Art Space Marsha Mateyka Gallery
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Howard University Gallery of Art
National Endowment For The Humanities
Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant
Level II
1
Christie, Exhibit Finder
2. Abstract
A recent report by the Institute of Museum and Library Services found that there
are 35,144 museums in the United States.1 With the number of museums still increasing,
it is becoming more important for museums to connect with their audiences. Recently,
museums have incorporated new methods such as digitized collections, digital humanities
projects, and social media to reach out to audiences. However, I believe there is still a
gap between museums and their audiences. The digital humanities project, Exhibit
Finder, can fill this gap by making museums’ exhibitions easily accessible to audiences.
Exhibit Finder will be a website for both scholars and non-scholars to find past, current,
and upcoming exhibitions. This project aids scholars in their research of specific art
institutions or exhibitions and easily connects non-scholars to art institutions they may
not have known otherwise.
3. Narrative
As stated earlier, there are over 35,000 museums and historical institutions in the
United States, which doubles the number of museums in the 1990s.2 Taking on all
35,144 museums and their exhibitions for a Level II Digital Humanities Start-Up grant is
not realistic but narrowing the focus to a specific type of museum in a designated area
does. For this reason the project Exhibit Finder proposes to narrow the focus to art
museums and galleries in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C has approximately 50 art
museums and galleries t variation of art institutions, therefore providing an appropriate
prototype.
Enhancing the Humanities Through Innovation
The main aim of Exhibit Finder is to provide an easy method for finding past,
current, and future art exhibitions in Washington D.C. Users can use their location,
dates, or interests, such as contemporary art, to filter through the exhibits. Exhibit Finder
can be useful to a wide-ranging audience. A scholar can use exhibition for research on a
specific artist or art movement, a tourist can use it to plan visits to museums, and an art
enthusiast can use it to stay up to date on art shows. Currently, in order for people to find
out what is being exhibited at a museum or gallery people must either visit a specific
museum or galleries’ website, do a “Google” search, or find a local newspaper. This is
problematic for a few reasons. For one, it implies that the people know all the different
museums and galleries in the area. Also, if they do not know art institutions in the D.C.
area a “Google” search will only provide them with the most art institutions in the area.
Local newspapers and magazines are a good source for finding exhibitions but some can
be costly and not as easily available as a computer or tablet. By exposing a wide-ranging
audience to exhibits in Washington, D.C. through a user friendly website Exhibit Finder
can connect people to museums, galleries, art, and/or artist they may not have been
exposed to previously.
Exhibit Finder can be used by a variety of different age groups, and for both
scholarly and non-scholarly purposes. For example, for art historians Exhibit Finder can
1
2
https://www.imls.gov/research-evaluation/data-collection/museum-universe-data-file
Ibid.
National Endowment For The Humanities
2
Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant
Level II
Christie, Exhibit Finder
provide insight into the history of art institutions in the D.C. area or help them locate the
areas certain art movements were exhibited. Art historians can also use this information
for a historiography or critique of a specific museum. Additionally, because Exhibit
Finder is an open source website where users can freely share information scholars and
museum professionals can gather reactions to exhibitions, which could aide them in
future projects.
Environmental Scan
The reason the project Exhibit Finder focuses on exhibitions is because there are
multiple websites that list all of the museums and galleries in Washington, D.C and
across the United States, however none of them provide information about their
exhibitions. We believe it is important to publish exhibitions because many of the users
for this site will be from the general public and trying to visit a museum that will show
them something they want to see currently
Wikipedia is a good example of a website that provides a simplified list for
museums in Washington, D.C.3 On their page “List of Museums in Washington, D.C.
they provide a chart of approximately 90 museums in Washington, D.C. They also
include an image of the museum, what type of museum it is, a brief description of the
museum, and the museum’s website when applicable.
Also, the Omeka site US Museum Explorer provides a great list of museums
around the United States.4 US Museum Explorer takes its list further than Wikipedia by
including a description of the museums if applicable and the option for users to use their
location to find a museum near them. Both of these website educate users about smaller
institutions but it directs them to the institutions websites to learn about their exhibitions.
There are a few websites and online sources that have published a list of new
exhibitions openings. For example, the Washington Post’s website published an article
“Summer 2015 Preview: D.C. Museum Exhibits Not to Miss”5 and About.com published
“Washington DC Museum Guide: Fall 2015/Winter 2016”. These sites have detailed
descriptions of exhibits showing in Washington D.C. and are good resources for finding
exhibits. The problem with these online essays are that they only included exhibits in
popular museums, the majority of them being Smithsonian Museums. Also, they do not
provide
Local newspapers and magazines were the best source for finding museums and
current exhibitions in Washington, D.C. For example each month the magazine Modern
Luxury: DC designates two pages current and upcoming exhibitions at both large
museums and small art galleries. This is a great resource for art institutions to connect
with there audiences however it does present some problems. For one, to see this
information in print or online you have to buy a subscription. Secondly, because this is
produced and shared around the D.C area, people from other parts of the United States or
the world may not be exposed to the publication.
3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_in_Washington,_D.C.
http://museums.hackingthehumanities.org/about
5
https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2015/06/04/summer-2015-preview-d-cmuseum-exhibits-not-to-miss/
4
National Endowment For The Humanities
Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant
Level II
3
Christie, Exhibit Finder
History and Duration of the Project
Prior to this project general information about museums in Washington D.C. was
collected. The first five months of the project are dedicated to producing more
information about art institutions in Washington D.C such as location, exhibition list, and
institution history. Not every art institution was able to provide a list of exhibitions a
year in advance, therefore researchers and project manager will be staying in touch with
these places throughout the project.
Work Plan
Work Period: 16 months
Phase One: Research (November-May)
 Researchers will compile complete list of art museums and galleries in
Washington, D.C
 Researchers will connect with each institution and obtain dates of past, current,
and future exhibits
 Project Director will visit each institution to learn or confirm location
 Researchers and Project Director will meet to create excel sheet that includes each
institutions’ location, exhibit dates, current website, background information on
museum and each exhibit
Phase Two: Input Data (June-December)
 Transfer information from Phase One onto Omeka site
 Programmer will install Geolocation Plug In and input location of each art
institution into Geoloation Plug In
Phase Three: Test (January-March)
 Gather a diverse group volunteers to use website on a variety of different
technologies (desktops, laptops, and tablets)
 Review results and plan for changes from volunteers feedback
Staff
Project Director:
Ashley Christie
The responsibilities of the project director is to collet data from all art institutions,
organize meetings with other staff members, consistently communicate status of project
to staff members, and maintain set timeline.
Researchers:
(search in progress)
There will be five researchers for this project funded by NEH. Ideally, they would be Art
History or History undergraduate or graduate students living in the Washington, D.C.
area. Each will be responsible for collecting exhibition information for approximately 10
art institutions. They will also assist in inputting the metadata for the exhibitions they
researched.
National Endowment For The Humanities
Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant
Level II
4
Christie, Exhibit Finder
Software Programmer:
(search in progress)
There will be one software programmer who will advise and assist the project director
with designing the Omeka website. This person will responsible for inputting metadata,
installing plug-ins, and uploading images.
Final Product and Dissemination
The final product will be an open source website where scholars and non-scholars can
find information on past, present, and future art exhibitions in the Washington, D.C.
Users are encouraged to write reviews or “like” the exhibits, however the project director
will monitor their comments. Tutorials and presentations of this website will be
presented to universities, community centers, and art institutions in the Washington, D.C.
area. The website will also be promote on the social media outlets of participating art
institutions, staff members, and volunteers.
4. Data Management Plan
The project director will oversee the collecting of data on approximately 40 art
museums and galleries in Washington, D.C. This information can be accessed for free by
the public and will include dates and short description of the institutions exhibits along
with a description of the institution itself. The project team will use Dublin Core as its
metadata standard.
5. Appendices
Appendix A
Aaron Gallery
Addison Ripley Fine Art
Admason Gallery
Alex Gallery
American Painting
American University Museum
Art Museum of the Americas
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Burton Marinkovich Fine Art
Civilian Art Projects
Corcoran Gallery of Art
Daughter of the American Revolution Museum
Dumbarton House
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
Foundry Gallery
Freer Gallery of Art
General Federation of Women’s Clubs Headquarters
Geographic Museum
National Endowment For The Humanities
Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant
Level II
5
Christie, Exhibit Finder
George Washington University Art Galleries
Georgetown University Art Galleries
Hillwood Estate Museum & Gardens
Hillyer Art Space Marsha Mateyka Gallery
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Howard University Gallery of Art
Kreeger Museum
Library of Congress
Meridian International Center
National Building Museum
National Gallery of Art
National Museum of African Art
National Museum of American Indian
National Museum of Women in the Arts
National Portrait Gallery
O Street Museum Foundation
Phillips Collection
Q Street Fine Art
Renwick Gallery
S. Dillion Ripley Center
Salve Regina Gallery
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Studio Gallery
Swann Street Gallery
Textile Museum
The Wilderness Society Gallery
Toolbox Gallery
Tudor Place
Washington Printmakers Gallery
National Endowment For The Humanities
Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant
Level II
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