This week on the blog, we are sad to bid adieu to our Curator of Exhibitions, Pam Wall. After 14 years at the Gibbes, Pam has left to spend more time with her family. Though we will all miss her dearly, we are thrilled that she will remain in Charleston and active in the Gibbes in various capacities.
Describe your role here at the Museum in a few sentences.
My primary responsibility is to manage the Museum’s special exhibitions program. We rotate exhibitions every 3-4 months, so I always have a new project on the horizon.
What brought you to the Gibbes? Tell us about how you ended up here!
As a sophomore in college, I was an accounting major. I happened to take an art history course, and my career path instantly changed. I fell in love with art history, changed my major, and never looked back. Following graduation, I moved to Washington D.C. and worked at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Several years later, my husband and I moved to Charleston and I was lucky enough to be hired by the Gibbes as an Assistant Curator. 14 years later, here I am!
What’s your favorite work in the collection and why?
Sarah Remembered by Leo Twiggs has long been one of my favorite works in the collection. I think the world of Leo as an artist and a person, and find his work incredibly moving. Sarah Remembered is a tribute to the artist’s great-grandmother, who was born into slavery and emancipated at age seven. Though Twiggs never met his great-grandmother, he drew upon family stories and his imagination to create a portrait of Sarah as a young girl. Sarah’s story is one of strength and resilience, and I can’t help but think of my own young daughters as I look at Sarah and imagine what she experienced at such a young age.
Tell us about an interesting project you’ve worked on.
Where do I even begin? During my time at the Gibbes I have cut saplings in the middle of the woods, sipped mojitos in Havana, accompanied miniature portraits through airport security, and danced in a flash mob—all in the name of art! But the most complex and rewarding project of all was our Museum renovation. Our entire staff worked so hard for two-plus years to transform the Gibbes into the amazing museum you see today. There was blood, sweat, tears, long hours, and many sleepless nights. But there was also an incredible spirit of cooperation and sheer determination among our team to get the job done. The Gibbes staff is pretty incredible, and we have a beautifully renovated museum to show for it. I could not be more proud to be a part of this team.
Besides the Gibbes, where do you take friends and family for the quintessential Charleston/Lowcountry experience?
The perfect day would include a morning at the beach on Sullivan’s Island, lunch at Poe’s, afternoon wandering King Street and the Battery, followed by dinner at The Grocery. Riding bikes along the Wando River and crabbing in the creek behind my house are also family favorites.
We’d like to thank Pam for her years of incredible service to the Gibbes. We will miss her infectious positivity in the office and her wonderful talent in curating exhibitions in the Museum. Best of luck, and many hugs, to Pam!
Top Image: One last #GibbesGirls picture for Pam at the 2018 Fellows Luncheon!
Published June 8, 2018