“This Is Only a Test,” an interactive art exhibition, is being held at the University of North Dakota’s Memorial Union Gallery until Thursday, Feb. 27 and operates from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. This exhibit is open to the public, so everyone can participate in either engaging with the exhibition as a patron or solving a case file as a secret agent.
As the curator and director of UND Art Collections, Sarah Heitkamp, who has held the position for seven years, integrates art into all of campus.
“No matter what your major is, you can experience great art while you’re at UND,” Heitkamp said.
Between UND and downtown Grand Forks, Heitkamp oversees five different gallery spaces including the Memorial Union Gallery, Empire Arts Center, Columbia Hall Atrium: Arts for Vets Gallery, and School of Medicine & Health Sciences Second Floor Gallery.
“We rotate exhibitions through those spaces and [that] almost always involves students working on that,” Heitkamp said. “I also teach.”
Heitkamp begins her curating process by asking herself what the purpose is of what she is doing, who is the audience, or does she have a theme.
“For example, when we curated art for the Memorial Union, my class at the time did the majority of that work,” Heitkamp said. “I walked them through the process of deciding what theme is going to be, what art would be appropriate, and how to prepare and display it in the best way possible.”
The Memorial Union Gallery’s current exhibit, “This Is Only a Test,” was curated by the Memorial Union Gallery’s gallery manager, a graduate student, and undergraduate students.
“The idea came about after we created these weird, fun centerpieces for the Center of Innovation’s 40th anniversary. It was such a hit, and people had so much fun.” Heitkamp said. “We talked about how could we make that into a full-size, interactive exhibition.”
“This Is Only a Test” took several months to curate from finding fine art from permanent collections that would be appropriate for space to working in the mystery of the activity.
“My graduate assistant this semester is a PhD student in creative writing,” Heitkamp said. “So, we really relied on him to help us with the narrative for the exhibition.”
Patrons can go through the gallery and enjoy the art or pick up a case file and solve a mystery as a secret agent.
“If you choose to go on the adventure, it’s a whole new level. Now, you need to start digging around and looking for clues,” Heitkamp said. “Think about what are the clues that you’re getting and what are they telling you.”
When people visit an art exhibition, the artwork can be treated as a sacred space. Consequently, visitors may be quiet, not touch anything, and observe the art.
“We’ve really turned that completely upside down where it’s okay to move the art so that you can look for a clue, and it does challenge people a little bit,” Heitkamp said. “Anytime someone has the opportunity to engage physically with the artwork, it changes their experience.”
“This Is Only a Test” is featured in the Memorial Union Gallery until Thursday, Feb. 27, between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, if someone wants access to the exhibit in the evening or on a weekend, patrons can schedule time by reaching out to the Memorial Union Gallery.
Dylan Campbell is a Dakota Student Section Editor. He can be reached at dylan.campbell@und.edu.
