Shoeboxes are mostly home to shoes (obviously), spare keys, old letters and myriad other small mementos from years past, but the Georgia Museum of Art’s shoebox is its newest storage solution. In its new off-site storage unit, nicknamed “Shoebox,” the museum will store exhibition materials and publications in order to free up space for the ever-growing collection. This year marks 10 years since the museum’s addition and renovation, but a lot of growth has happened in the past decade and the need for more space has grown exponentially. “In a way, we are the victims of our own success,” said the museum’s deputy director, Annelies Mondi. “We have maintained an ambitious exhibition and publication schedule and actively seek and cultivate acquisitions to enhance our collections.”
With 117 exhibitions hosted since the renovation in 2011 and thousands of objects in the museum’s permanent collection, there is always work to be done behind the scenes. All the works coming into the museum means storage space needs to function with preservation and security in mind. Since the museum is already equipped for storing and preserving art, Mondi decided the best use of Shoebox would be to house building materials used in the construction of exhibitions, as well as the bulk of catalogs published by the museum. The museum will now have more space for collections, including the few large donations that prompted the decision to expand.
Mondi immediately knew that the space should be called “Shoebox.” The name aptly describes the boxy space, but it also references an inside joke from a Nashville work trip Mondi took with head of exhibition design and chief preparator Todd Rivers. The pair decided to go to a trivia night where they were prompted to come up with a team name. Mondi spontaneously said “shoebox,” only to discover that traditional trivia names are much less innocent.
The museum is constantly adapting and growing to serve its purposes as both an academic museum and the state museum of Georgia. So, while Shoebox is a tremendous relief for storage today, there are bound to be more space solutions needed in the years to come. For now, though, the extra square footage will help the museum continue its ongoing mission to provide and protect art for the many communities it serves. “Having an off-site storage facility… enables the museum to grow and further our mission to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret significant works of art,” said Mondi.
The move would not have been possible without the hard work and collaboration of Mondi, Rivers, director of security and facilities Keith Thalhamer, director of communications Hillary Brown, Keith Drake, Tim South and all the folks at the university’s Facilities Management Division!
By Kathrin Merritt
