“Snapshots: 15 Takes on an Exhibition” is a unique exhibit put on by fifteen Museum Studies students at Tufts University. As a starting point, the students selected photographs from a collection of images provided by Historic New England. The photographs had been exhibited together before as “The Camera’s Coast,” a collection depicting late 19th and early 20th Century life on the coast of New England, but have now been given new and diverse lives by the young curators. Starting with a singe photo, each student envisioned and designed their own museum display. The result is a multi-faceted and engaging show that showcases the students’ ability to create museum-quality work.

Snapshots: 15 Takes on an Exhibition

The gallery is divided into sections, each segment a glimpse into a different exhibit, as if 15 museums had been cut apart and glued back together in the same room. My favorite element of the show is how interactive it is! Each curator asks viewers to play their part in a different way.

“Spirit of Play: A Peek Through Art” by Carlie Bristow

Carlie Bristow connects her selected photo with the work of a contemporary artist, Julie Blackmon, and asks the viewer to consider the role of play in their own lives.

“Safe Harbor: Provincetown’s Cultural Renaissance” by James Stanton

James Stanton installed a life-size door on his part of the gallery wall, and asks viewers to open the door and peer inside the “closet” of unique creatives who found a home in Providence in the 19th Century.

“Rich Clam, Poor Clam” by Tegan Kehoe

Tegan Kehoe invites viewers to touch a lobster trap and even provides a recipe for viewers to cook their own clams!

Other curators ask viewers to touch materials, use a photo viewer, ponder their own relationship with each image, and offer their own opinions. “Snapshots: 15 Takes on an Exhibition” is a vibrant and fun exhibit; it is easy to imagine fifteen fully fleshed out museum shows branching off from the gallery and I would enjoy the chance to visit all of them.

“Snapshots: 15 Takes on an Exhibition” is on view at the Tufts University Koppleman Gallery until May 18.

Photographs taken by Suzi Grossman. Suzi also blogs at Suzi Looks At Lots of Art.