COVID-Era Creativity: Making Data Accessible in Internationally Sourced Public Art

This experience report examines how, across several stages of grant-based exhibit work, thoughtful data management processes and collaborative, community-based exhibit development can turn data points into inclusive communal experiences. This is exemplified in the development of the Creativity in the Time of COVID-19 (CC-19) Public Art Exhibit, which was funded by a Just Futures Grant from the Mellon Foundation, taking place in an abandoned Sears building in Lansing, Michigan in the spring of 2023. CC-19 examined how people from around the world creatively expressed themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing intersectional social justice issues. As such, accessibility was of the utmost importance, both in terms of accessibility to people with disabilities and general ease of use for all exhibit visitors. This experience report is framed through my perspective as the Label and Translations Manager for CC-19 and primarily addresses the development of interpretive materials, accessible exhibition practices, and collaborative efforts for this exhibit.