EMMA THORNE-CHRISTY
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  • Exhibit Design
    • My Work
    • Selected Projects >
      • Chromatic
      • Notorious RBG
      • Stepping Stones
      • COVID-19
      • Paul Simon
      • Donor Recognition Walls
      • ¡Ya Basta!
      • Noah's Outdoor Explorers
      • Harvest Festival
      • Summer Family Lounge
      • Pop for the People
      • America's Shakespeare
      • Our Place at the Table
    • What is Exhibit Design?
  • Creative Activism
  • Connect
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EXHIBIT DESIGN WORK

Services

  • Interpretive planning
  • Spatial design 
  • Graphic design 
  • Gallery furniture and prop design/sourcing
  • Interactive and participatory design
  • Project management and installation oversight

Mediums

  • Museum exhibitions
  • Environmental graphics
  • Wayfinding
  • Donor recognition walls
  • Informal learning environments
  • Immersive environments

​Client List

  • Adoption Museum Project
  • Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation
  • Autry Museum of the American West
  • California Historical Society
  • California Science Center
  • Chinese American Museum
  • Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California
  • Corita Art Center
  • Design Museum, University of California, Davis
  • Heart of Los Angeles
  • Indian Creek Nature Center
  • Italian American Museum of Los Angeles
  • LAFD Historical Society
  • LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
  • Library Foundation of Los Angeles
  • Mineral King Preservation Society
  • Museum of Ventura​ County
  • Skirball Cultural Center​
  • Tomás Rivera Library, University of California, Riverside
see samples of my work
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PROJECTS BY TYPE

Exhibition Design

Still I Rise: The Black IE fight for Justice
Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California // 2022 // Riverside, CA
All That Glitters is Not Gold
​
Museum of Ventura County // 2022 // Ventura, CA
All in This Together: COVID 19
California Science Center // 2021 //  Los Angeles, CA
The Origins of Stop, Drop and Roll
Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation and LAFD Historical Society // 2021 // Los Angeles, CA
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Skirball Cultural Center // 2019 // Los Angeles, CA + traveling

with Debi van Zyl
Murales Rebeldes: L.A. Chicana/o Murals Under Siege
California Historical Society // 2018 // San Francisco, CA
with Debi van Zyl
Circles and Circuits II: Contemporary Chinese Caribbean Art
Chinese American Museum // 2017 // 
Los Angeles, CA
with Annex Design Services
America's Shakespeare: The Bard Goes West
Los Angeles Public Library Central Branch
Library Foundation of Los Angeles // 2016 // Los Angeles, CA

with Annex Design Services
Corita Kent: Somebody had to Break the Rules
Corita Art Center // 2016 // traveling exhibition
Orange Roots
​Tomás Rivera Library
​University of California, Riverside // 2016 //  Riverside, CA

with Annex Design Services
The History of the LGBTQ Civil Rights Movement
Tomás Rivera Library
University of California, Riverside // 2016 //  Riverside, CA

with Annex Design Services
Our Place at the Table: Honoring Birthmother Stories
Adoption Museum Project // 2013 // San Francisco, CA
 
Structures, Signifiers and Society: People and Textiles
Design Museum, University of California Davis // 2013 //  Davis, CA
Chromatic: The Museum in Six Colors
Museum of Ventura County // 2022 // Ventura, CA
Welcome Gallery
Museum of Ventura County // 2022 // Ventura, CA
Native Voices
Mineral King Preservation Society & Three Rivers Museum // 2022 // Three Rivers, CA
Creek Exhibition Stepping Stones 
Indian Creek Nature Center // 2020 // Cedar Rapids, IA
¡Ya Basta! The East L.A. Walkouts and the Power of Protest
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes // 2018 //  Los Angeles, CA
with Debi van Zyl
Spotlight: Selections from Kehinde Wiley The World Stage Israel
Skirball Cultural Center // 2018 //  Los Angeles, CA
Paul Simon: Words & Music
Skirball Cultural Center // 2017 //  Los Angeles, CA

with Debi van Zyl
Pop for the People: Roy Lichtenstein in L.A.
Skirball Cultural Center // 2016 // Los Angeles, CA

with Debi van Zyl
Laughing Matters: The Experiences of Women in Stand-Up Comedy
Nous Tous Gallery // 2016 // Los Angeles, CA.
Filed Away: the undocumented experience
University of California Davis // 2014 // Davis, CA
Route 66: The Road and the Romance
Autry Museum of the American West // 2013 // Los Angeles, CA

with Autry In-House Design Department
Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork
Autry Museum of the American West // 2013 // Los Angeles, CA
​
Exhibition Design with Autry In-House Design Department

Donor Recognition Walls

Creek Exhibition Donor Recognition Wall
The Amazing Space
Indian Creek Nature Center // 2020 // 
Cedar Rapids, IA
Capital Campaign Donor Recognition Wall
HOLA Arts & Recreation Center
Heart of Los Angeles // 2019 // 
Los Angeles, CA

Immersive Environments + Set Design

Noah's Ark Outdoor Experience
Skirball Cultural Center // 2021 // Los Angeles, CA
Harvest Festival Sukkah
​Skirball Cultural Center // 
2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 //  ​Los Angeles, CA
Summer Family Lounge
Skirball Cultural Center // 2017 // Los Angeles, CA
Quirky Tours for the Orientation Gallery
Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens // 2015 // San Marino, CA
with Karina White
"The Stages of Business Disruption" production design
short film for Deloitte Digital
Rustic Production // 2016 // Los Angeles, CA
Voices theatrical set design
University of California, Davis // 2014 // Davis, CA
Makerskit Tradeshow Booths
Makerskit // 2014-2015 // Los Angeles, CA

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Conference Organizer

Re-Envisioning Exhibition Design: Chaos at the Museum. April 2014. London, England.

Museum Community

Initiative Activator. Free the Museum Project, Summer/Fall 2020.

Audience Research Learning Collaborative member. California Association of Museums, Fall 2015 - Winter 2016.

Speaking Engagements

"ReMuseum 2020: Activate the Outdoors." California Association of Museums. November 2020. Virtual.
"In-conversation: What will exhibitions, touring and partnerships of the future look like?​" Touring Exhibitions Group. October 2020. Virtual.
"Free the Museum." Greater Hudson Heritage Network Virtual Conference. October 2020. Virtual.
"Exhibiting Politics: How Museums Address Political Subjects in the Gallery." Art Museum Days. Finnish Museum Association. October 2020. Virtual.
"Using Design to Change Politics." Otis College of Art and Design "Shelter Me" Class. October 2020. Virtual.
"Activism + Data Visualization." Otis College of Art and Design "Shelter Me" Class. February 2020. Los Angeles, CA.
"Visualizing the Exhibition." Autry Teacher Academy. July 2017. Los Angeles, CA.
"Work/Happy." UC Davis Design Department Graduate Seminar. May 2017. Davis, CA. 
"Making Space for the Public: Community Curators, Pop-Ups & Contemporary Issues." California Association of Museums Conference. March 2017. Sacramento, CA.
"Taxidermy as Museum Object." The Publics of Art and Design, Twenty-Third Annual Parsons/Cooper-Hewitt Graduate Student Symposium on the Decorative Arts and Design. April 2014. New York, NY. 
"Controversial Conversations: Engaging Visitors in Issues that Matter." California Association of Museums Conference. March 2014. Napa, CA.

Publications

"Going Rogue for Good." [co-author] Exhibition, Journal by the National Association for Museum Exhibition. Fall 2021.

Museums + Politics + Activism.  A monthly-ish series of articles published on Exhibits of Humanity and Gurl Museum Day Magazine. June 2020 - November 2020.

"In Defense of the Physical Exhibition: A plea to not 'move' exhibitions online."  Museum Next. May 2020.

"Anyone Gotta Game? Crowd Sourcing as Museum Tool."
California Association of Museums. June 2013.

"The Role of Design in the Creation of Excellent Exhibitions." California Association of Museums. August 2013.​

"Activating Visitors: The Exhibition Development and Design Process of Exhibiting Challenging Material with a Call-to-Action Message." California Association of Museums. November 2013.
see samples of my work

www.emmatc.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Exhibit Design
    • My Work
    • Selected Projects >
      • Chromatic
      • Notorious RBG
      • Stepping Stones
      • COVID-19
      • Paul Simon
      • Donor Recognition Walls
      • ¡Ya Basta!
      • Noah's Outdoor Explorers
      • Harvest Festival
      • Summer Family Lounge
      • Pop for the People
      • America's Shakespeare
      • Our Place at the Table
    • What is Exhibit Design?
  • Creative Activism
  • Connect