You’ve seen them in the lecture theatre…now see them in the art gallery!

A visitor looks at prints on display in the Strang Print Room

Coming soon to a university art collection near you is an innovative new exhibition format designed to showcase art works from a unique perspective. The concept is simple: take one person whose specialist subject is something other than art and let them choose pieces from an art collection to share with the rest of us.  

Pop-up displays at the Strang Print Room is a series of temporary, informal displays which will showcase selections of artworks as chosen by visiting ‘Pop-up Curators.’ There are no preconditions to their selection; the works they choose could share a subject or technique, be the work of a particular artist, tap into the zeitgeist, or just be the things they find utterly fabulous.

First to take the plunge is Dr. David Dobson, from the UCL Department of Earth Sciences. Dr. Dobson spent a couple of hours in the Strang yesterday afternoon choosing artworks to display at the inaugural pop-up display next Wednesday. When not conducting high pressure experiments in order to unravel the secrets of the Earth’s core, Dr. Dobson is a keen mountaineer and wood engraver (not a lot of people know that). All these aspects of his brilliant personality have fed into his choices and have resulted in a combination of prints which have never been displayed together before. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this selection is the age of the works, which span from the 16^th century to one of UCL Art Collections lateset acquisitions.

So, which objects made the final cut? The only way to find out is to come and see for yourself. They’ll be on show at the Strang Print Room from 1 – 2pm on Wednesday March 16^th (see here for details).

If you’d like to take on the challenge yourself, we’re looking for other Pop-up Curators to carry on the good work. If you’re interested, drop us a line (college.art@ucl.ac.uk), or pop into the Strang for a chat.