by Simon Hunt

In a world where organizations are constantly changing their names to shorter, more media-friendly handles—think Kentucky Fried Chicken, Commonwealth Edison or Miller Genuine Draft—one department at SAIC has opted for a longer one. This fall, Exhibitions & Events will be adding 17 letters to their title, resulting in Exhibitions & Events /Exhibition Studies. Strangely, Exhibition Studies will be adopting the same name.

In the case of the corporate examples mentioned above, a name change gives consumers an easier name to remember and a pseudo-slang word to fit into conversations and pop songs. For Exhibitions & Events/Exhibition Studies, the change is more administrative.

The building at 1926 N. Halsted, which houses the Roger Brown Study Collection and one of the school’s gallery spaces, is now closed for renovation. While curator Lisa Stone is planning to make the study collection available to students on a limited basis during the renovations, the gallery space will be relocated in a part of the ground floor of the Gallery 2 building at 847 W. Jackson. That space which, according to Exhibitions & Events/ Exhibition Studies associate director Trevor Martin, has often gone unused in the past, will now be called Project Space.

Besides a flurry of name changing, the reorganization of the department will result in a different application process for gallery spaces. Rather than apply for a show separately to the Betty Rymer Gallery, Gallery 2 and Project Space, a single application review will cover all three.

September 2005