C U L T U R E LUAG Asks ‘What Matters Most’ with New Exhibition The Lehigh University Art Galleries asks faculty, staff, students and the community to explore what matters most to them as they navigate the pandemic Lehigh University Art Galleries posed that question to more than 100 Lehigh faculty, students and staf, as well as members of the Bethlehem, Pa., community, for a community-curated exhibition across the Lehigh campus and along the South BethlehemGreenway. Participants were asked to select an artwork from more than 5,000 pieces available digitally through LUAG’s website. Since the exhibition is spread across the fve galleries at Lehigh in high-trafc areas, the artwork is limited to two-dimensional pieces such as photography, prints and paintings. “We are asking, What matters most?What are our priorities now, and what should they be as we all try to re-emerge in the world?” said LUAG Director WilliamCrow, who is also a professor of practice in the Department of Art, Architecture and Design. LUAG also launched a series of 30 videos featuring Lehigh students interviewing participants about what matters most to them and discussing their chosen artwork. “When people explore these works of art, they are making connections I would have never thought about,” Crow said. “They are making connections through their own memories, culture and sometimes their native language. That’s the great power of bringing people together around works of art. It creates knowledge, and that’s what universities do.” The last few years have been challenging for everyone, as the pandemic shifted the ways in which people work and function, he said. In answering the question in the accompanying videos, participants talked about issues that included inequality in society, bringing people together, identity and gender, the environment and climate change. Thirty students who were enrolled in museum studies classes or were interns for LUAGparticipated in the exhibition by conducting the interviews. Exhibit curators identifed people to interview—from local business owners and nonproft leaders to faculty and staf. BethDolan, interimdean of the College of Health and a professor of English, was among those who helped curate the exhibition. 2 2 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0OTQ5OA==