JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens received a 2026 Southeastern Museums Conference Bronze Award for an exhibition guest-curated by University of North Florida students.<\/p>\n
The award recognized \u201cTouring the Landscape: Art, Travel and the Shaping of American Identity\u201d in the competition\u2019s under-$10,000 budget category.<\/p>\n
The exhibition examines how late 19th- and early 20th-century artists used landscape painting and tourism to explore American identity at home and abroad. On view through Nov. 29, 2026, the presentation was selected by a panel of regional museum professionals from a record-breaking field of applicants across the Southeast.<\/p>\n
Students created the exhibition as part of a Hicks Honors College course titled \u201cPublic Narratives: Museum Curation and Interpretation.\u201d The coursework challenged students to use items from the museum\u2019s permanent collection to examine how visual depictions of landscape shaped the American imagination.<\/p>\n
Meg McCrummen Fowler, assistant director of the Hicks Honors College at the University of North Florida, taught the curation class. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe chance to guest curate such an exhibition is a rare opportunity for undergraduates and this sort of experiential learning and undergraduate research is extraordinary preparation for their careers,\u201d Fowler said. \u201cI\u2019m especially grateful for the Cummer Museum\u2019s enthusiastic partnership that created such an outstanding experience for our UNF students.\u201d<\/p>\n
The display features prominent landscape paintings from the museum\u2019s holdings, including works by Jasper Cropsey, Martin Johnson Heade and Winslow Homer. <\/p>\n
Holly Keris, chief curator at the Cummer Museum, noted that the student-led research offers fresh context for well-known pieces. \u201cWhile these paintings by Cropsey, Heade, Homer and others are among the most recognizable in our collection, the students\u2019 research provides an opportunity to see these familiar favorites through a new lens,\u201d Keris said.<\/p>\n
The Southeastern Museums Conference Exhibition Competition evaluates submissions on overall design, educational merit and object care. In addition to the award, the exhibition will be highlighted in the Winter 2026 edition of INSIDE SEMC, a regional digital publication for museum professionals.<\/p>\n
Award recipients will be formally recognized at the conference\u2019s annual meeting awards luncheon on Sept. 30, 2026, in Winston-Salem, N.C.<\/p>\n
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