Site Selection

The creation of the exhibition entailed an interchange between artist commission and site selection. We invited artists individually. Simultaneously, we scouted potential sites across the Dartmouth campus, finally landing on a group of sixteen (fig. 2) for which we prepared dossiers that we distributed to the artists. Artists then either came to campus to select a site, or consulted with us electronically. Sites ranged across academic departments and College institutions. We looked for sites that would offer a variety of options for artists: very public or more tucked away, sonically quieter or with ample ambient noise, small and contained or large and expansive. Ultimately, matching artists and sites was a relatively painless process, as the artists had different acoustic and visual priorities. Some artists, such as Jacob Kirkegaard, offered different proposals for different sites, allowing us even greater flexibility. Julianne Swartz had an idea that didn’t match up with any of the sites on the original list, so we worked with the library to find a suitable location. Knowing her concept for Transfer (objects) (2017) helped to allay many of the library’s fears about the disruptive possibilities of a sound art piece.