October 24,2019
At the moment, we are deciding which objects from the collections we would like to use for our exhibition. Narrowing down the list of the objects can be quite challenging, as everyone has various ideas about how certain items fit into the theme of the exhibition and what could create potential difficulties for the display. We have a few objects, which caused certain tensions within the group (Traquair manuscript being the main one), but ultimately, we will be relying on what the library wants us to present and go from there.
It has always been challenging for me to work in groups; the more people there are, the more difficult it is to coordinate the dynamic in a way that people would get along with each other, without taking constructive criticism as a personal affront. I think one of the main issues we have at the moment is precisely the difficulty of expressing constructive criticism. Everyone seems eager to please everyone else, which is a great instinct, but it often conflicts with the need to make definite decisions which not everyone in the group is ready to accept.
In that respect, our trip to Glasgow has helped us quite a bit not only in figuring out which objects we’d like to display but with our interpersonal relationships. The more time we spend together, the easier it will be to communicate with each other and come to solutions together.
That being said since my primary goal is public engagement, my active participation in the project will come in after the New Year. Nevertheless, I am trying to help as much as I can with planning and potential ideas for display so that all of us have an equal amount of work to handle.
Featured Image: Photo by Rada Kuznetsova
