History Thursday: Expanding the Visibility of Research: Exhibitions

Exhibits

Major changes also occurred in the exhibitions division during this period. Head curator Mari Lyn Salvador received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to create two new permanent exhibits. Under guest curator Professor Erik Trinkhaus with consultants Professors Lawrence Strauss and Lewis Binford, the old Human Evolution exhibition was replaced by “Ancestors.”  The exhibit, which opened on November 16, 1990 featured lifelike hominid models created by Michael Anderson of the Yale Peabody Museum and a simulated cave that described European Upper Paleolithic rock art. The anachronistic “Man of the Southwest” exhibit, which had first opened in 1973, was replaced by the more aptly named “People of the Southwest,” guest curated by Professor Wirt (Chip) wills with Alfonso Ortiz Special Consultant. This exhibit merged displays on archaeological methods (including a simulated Chaco dig) with  chronological ordered displays of UNM archaeological research and collections from the Southwest.

The Museum also mounted a lively sequence of temporary exhibitions during this period, averaging some three per year. These encompassed a range of topics and materials, celebrating Maxwell Museum collections, curatorial research, and collaborations with regional and national artists, scholars, and cultural organizations.

Last but certainly not least, it was under Bawden’s leadership that the Maxwell submitted documentation for its third reaccreditation from the American Association of Museums, which was successfully received in 2006, shortly after Bawden stepped down from the director position.

Images: Top: Ancestors Hall
Lower: 2nd floor, People of the Southwest exhbition; Archaeological excavation display, People of the Southwest