Helping out at the Poster Exchange 2004 |
This year’s poster exchange was a big success! Approximately 635 posters found a new home. The exchange took place over Fall Break. It started at about 11 and went to around 3 on the different days. This was my first year helping out with the poster exchange. I did not expect there to be so much work and effort involved. We spent the whole week prior to the exchange collecting posters, checking them in, matting, framing, and other paper work related tasks. I remember thinking to myself, “Wow! When is this going to be over?” However, even though it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun. I enjoyed watching all of the people study and think about which posters would go well with their offices. On the first day there was a mass of people waiting to get the new posters. Many spent quite a while trying to decide which would match the one they had already fallen in love with. Some were in and out in a flash. Overall, I enjoyed the exchange and was very pleased to see the amount of people that were there to borrow the art work. I love art and it makes me happy to see others that feel the same way. By: Raven Martin |
The Visual Arts Lending Collection Print & Poster Exchange 2004 |
At the beginning of the Poster Exchange, the Visual and Performing Arts Building’s gallery was full of hundreds of posters and prints. After three days, only a handful of posters were left. The exchange was an enormous success. Faculty and staff members from every school came to the exchange to select new pictures or to trade in their old ones. As they browsed through the artwork, a webcam recorded each day's activity. On day one, the mood was calm as donors browsed through posters looking to add to their collections. Each year, those who donate to the exchange are allowed to select two new prints in addition to the amount they currently possess. The donors are given the first chance to select from the new posters that have been added to the collection throughout the year. The relaxed atmosphere of day one gives way to frenzy by day two. The poster exchange officially started at 11:00 am, but a line was beginning to form by 10:00. The second day of the exchange is open to anyone who has previously participated in the exchange. As hundreds of faculty and staff members came to trade in the posters off their office walls for new artwork, the students working the exchange were kept busy checking posters in and out. Some of the participants traded so many pictures they required carts to haul them to and from the exchange. Each poster brought to the exchange was checked for damage, updated in the filing system, and set out on the display floor for a new owner to find. Students worked hard to keep the posters moving so that there were always enough posters to choose from on display. Once selections had been made, participants waited in line for students to check them out. Data was updated in the UVAC computer system to keep track of who is currently holding which pictures. As trades were made on a one-for-one basis, there were still plenty of pictures left at the end of the day. The last day of the exchange was open to first-time participants in the poster exchange. Many of these people had seen beautiful artwork hanging in hallways and wanted to get the same look for their departments. Others were recently hired employees brand new to the Purdue campus looking to fill up their empty offices. New participants were allowed to take as many posters and prints as would fit in their space. The exchange was full of excitement as the employees searched in awe through the hundreds of pictures to find the perfect piece for their office or laboratory. As the day went on, there was less and less artwork to choose from. The students worked diligently to frame new prints and repair old ones to give the new participants more of a selection. By the end of the day, there were less than a dozen pictures left out of the more than 600 there had been at the beginning of the exchange. These pictures were carted away to be put in storage until next year’s exchange, when they will hopefully all find new homes. By: Natasha Elise Bilka |