exhibition

Museum of Me: a student belonging exhibition

How will you remember 2020?

When you look back on this disrupted year what will you recall of the cultural inspiration that helped you get through social isolation? Think of the music, online streaming, cooking, Zoom sessions and memes and art that provided a sense of hope and belonging over the long months of lockdown and social distancing.

Museum of Me is an RMIT Gallery online student exhibition showcasing creativity across the university.

RMIT students curated an exhibition about themselves, submitting photos, music, creative writing, drawings, soundscapes, or videos they have created this year.

Students also selected creative works from the public domain, as well as RMIT’s very own Cultural Collections (RMIT Design Archives, AFI Research Collection, RMIT Art Collection), that  have provided a jolt of inspiration, or simply brought joy.   

The exhibition is completely student run – a creative team of RMIT Culture interns are responsible for Museum of Me’s design, curation, promotion and an accompanying digital publication.

Amy Bartholomeusz, a Master of Arts (Arts Management) student and part of the exhibition’s creative team, explains the genesis of the exhibition:

“As we found ourselves confined to the indoors, Museum of Me was born. Transcending the traditional notion of what we understood the Gallery to be, this exhibition has been produced purely online and created by a creative team who have only ever seen and spoken to each other through a computer screen.

“It is in this way, that Museum of Me is unique and representative of the future of RMIT student work and collaboration. Museum of Me is an introspective of the self. Who am I? Where have I come from? Where will I go? These are the questions that are interwoven throughout the exhibition.

“As someone who is a ‘digital native’, this project supports the coming together of creativity and technology. This is something I am deeply interested in. Upon completing my own Museum of Me submission, I found myself looking back at my childhood and the artworks that have come and gone throughout my life into adulthood to shape me into who I am today – and who I will become.

“Through this reflection I only hope that the students involved in this project discover more about themselves. Learning who we are, and to be able to share that with others, is a valuable thing.

“Incorporating works from RMIT’s impressive Cultural Collections, and presented alongside students’ creative practice, Museum of Me celebrates resilience and the connection we have with each other throughout this pandemic.

“Now more than ever it is important to foster this student bond at a time that we may feel detached from both each other and the University. Museum of Me brings creativity and cultural inspiration into the light at a time when many of us may feel we have been caught in the dark.”   

RMIT student exhibitors:  Jade Armstrong, Amy Bartholomeusz, Taygan Bassi, Jean Baulch, Andrew Briganti, Rhys Cousins, Mackenzie Curtis, Aleisha Earp, Brayden Fraser, Angie Geary, Holly Goodridge, Tamar Gordon, Roberta Govoni, Hui Wen Beverly Hew, Evangeline Hoare, Rohan Kalisch, Sharon Li, Cherry Lin, Jerome Lin, Alexandra Linehan, Jiayi Liu, Lucy Maddox, Alisha Mahendran, Spoorthi Marakkini, Anya Minko, Subhasree Mohapatra, Zai Lat Naw, Natalie de Niese, Zoe Perks, Gemma Romiti, Louise Samuelsson, Tab Sejoe, Sacha Shaw, Lu An Shih, Kirtan Singh, Cristina Ulloa Sobarzo, Leanne Sta Ana, Phoebe Thompson, Sally Won, Yuchen Xin. 

Creative Team support: Helen Rayment, Elizabeth Marsden, Evelyn Tsitas. Digital exhibition development: Evelyn Tsitas

Museum of Me digital publication, designed by Hui Wen Beverly Hew