The Field Museum
Location1400 South, Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois, USA, Chicago, IL, USA
Type(s) of establishment
Type Permanent exhibit
Collection Native American
Four years and across an unforeseen global pandemic, the Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories exhibition opened to the public in the Spring of 2022.
Unlike the old hall, which had been in place since 1954, the newly renovated exhibits are guided by historical and contemporary stories told by Native American people in their own voices.
On display are 400 incredible objects from the museum’s historical collections, but also 50 contemporary Native American artworks. It is unusual for a natural history museum to display contemporary work, but the purpose was to forefront that native culture is contemporary and thriving, as well as rooted in history.
Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories at the Field Museum © 2022 The Field Museum, photograph by John Weinstein
Challenge
The project comprised of 18 climate-controlled archival cases, all of which had to meet the Field Museum’s extremely strict conservation guidelines.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of the collections, all cases needed to provide a very low air exchange rate for humidity and pollutant control. In addition, all display case materials needed to be inert and approved before production.
Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories at the Field Museum © 2022 The Field Museum, photograph by John Weinstein
Our Solutions
All display cases were tested for air leakage during the fabrication and during the installation. For each case, a detailed AER report was provided to the museum for review and approval prior to sign-off.
Material samples for each component that would be in contact with the art envelope were sent to the museum’s curatorial and conservation team for approval, along with an Oddy test report for each of these materials.
Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories at the Field Museum © 2022 The Field Museum, photograph by Eric Manabat
