Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte - Melanie Torres Crespo, Week 2

 

Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte

Melanie Torres Crespo - Week 2

Hola!! Welcome again to my recap of week #2 at the Museum of History, Anthropology, and Art. This week has been extremely interesting and fun!

This past Saturday, I had my reading event at the San Juan Community Library. I was able to do two reading sessions, since the kids arrived at different intervals of time. 

Even though I was very nervous, this was a extremely enjoyable activity! It was so interesting to hear the children's interpretation of Paletero Man, see their drawings, and hear their favorite paleta flavors. They were very lovely! 

Big thanks to the YAP alum and all the staff of this library! They were super nice, helpful, and engaged with this activity.

On Monday,  I finished organizing a closet with seasonal materials utilized throughout the year for several community activities, such as costumes, posters, and decorations. 

Furthermore, I kept researching for my individual investigation. Honestly, it has been a little bit hard to narrow down my main argument or concentration. I made my initial selection last week, but I keep changing in order to make sure I can a variety of works that connect well with my claims. There are a lot of amazing pieces that explore many topics, and I wish I could incorporate them all...

However, my favorite part was definitely starting to brainstorm and how I wanted to decorate a photo booth for an upcoming activity  We will be showcasing the museum's services and talking about its current exposition at the orientation for first year students. 

I printed and cut the images, and started organizing them in the frame to see how I liked it the best. I then decided to laminate all of them, since that would make the photo booth last longer and be more resistant to any damages. 

Tuesday was a quite varied day: In the morning, I had the opportunity to assist in another tour.

This time, the group was part of a media and cinematographic school, and one of their main goals was to see how humans have expressed their thoughts, ideas, and curiosity through different mediums. 

I enjoyed seeing the dynamics and different strategies employed to maintain the audience engaged. 

Also, I was able to see the archives of the museum and explore the library and its documentation. I finished my day by assisting at an origami workshop! 

I mainly worked at the reception of the museum in Wednesday.

I was in charge of answering the phone, attending visitors, and supervising the exhibition. Being in this area granted me the opportunity to experience and learn more in regards of the administrative side of a museum.

Moreover, being able to talk and hear each person's opinion on the pieces and how they felt connected with it was amazing!

My Thursday started with an origami workshop. Since next weeks the museum will not be able to be open for the public, it was decided to hold two workshops this week instead. There were over 30 people that assisted during the morning; thus, I had to assist in the teaching and giving the instructions.

After the workshop, I organized and cleaned the interactive section of the museum and continued with my investigation. 

I focused on finding data about the artists and different analysis and interpretation of their artworks.

Lastly, on Friday I worked in the reception area and worked on some digital tasks. I also assisted in the exhibition and took pictures and videos to create content for the museum's social media next week!

When I was watering the huerto, I was able to see some tomatoes growing (and pretty flowers!). We cultivated beans and gave maintenance to the plants.

Overall, this week was very memorable; it showed me the diverse methods one can be involved in our communities. More specifically, how art has the power to transcend words while still impacting each individual, thus expanding our perspectives and increasing our awareness of issues in contemporary society. I believe that these types of exhibitions are capable of unifying people, making sure that we stay as a unified and accepting society. 

I am very excited to see what the upcoming weeks will bring! I also cannot believe that I am halfway through my working experience at the museum. So, I will keep making sure of making the most out of it, using every day to the fullest advantage possible.

Thank you for reading! See you next week!!