On October 10, guests at our In-Sight Evening got a sneak peek at preparations for our reopening. In a series of paired presentations, curators and staff members shared their ideas and experimentation in creating wholly fresh ways to present objects from our collections.

Kicking off the evening, assistant curators Michelle Lamunière and Elizabeth Rudy discussed a special gallery space on the fourth floor of the Arthur M. Sackler Museum dedicated to creating dialogues among works of art from different periods and cultures—a concept with infinite possibilities once all three museums are under one roof.

Next, assistant curator Melissa Moy and Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies research curator Francesca Bewer explained the processes behind making and conserving Chinese bronzes and illustrated ways in which information about how objects are made—and what they are made of—might be presented to visitors as part of object displays.

Finally, curator Amy Brauer and academic and public programs director Jessica Levin Martinez shared the many ways they hope to engage the community, both at Harvard and beyond. Amy and Jessica cited ongoing initiatives, such as student evenings and course demonstrations, as well as plans for the future, including our art study center, which will give visitors a more intimate way to view art.

Looking forward to the opening of the new building, curators, conservators, and museum staff are buzzing with fresh ideas and endless possibilities. As Jessica Levin Martinez asks in a great article about the evening by Harvard Crimson writer Lucy V. Burke, “How innovative can we dare to be?”

See images from the event on Flickr.