Penn Museum recently received a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for a video project documenting its newly renovated Egypt and Nubia galleries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences bestowed the project with the honor on Sept. 26 and recognized it under the Arts and Entertainment, Short Film category. The video<\/a> was made in collaboration with Maestro Filmworks<\/a> and highlights the largest gallery transformation in Penn Museum\u2019s 139-year history.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jennifer Houser Wegner, the curator in charge of the Egyptian Section and a 1991 College graduate, shared that the museum\u2019s plans to remodel the Egyptian exhibits have been in discussion for a quarter century.<\/p>\n \u201cWe submitted that first planning grant in 2001,\u201d she said, explaining that \u201cat the time, the museum wasn\u2019t able to take on a project of this size.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the largest new installations was a reconstruction of an Egyptian tomb chapel, which visitors will be able to physically enter.<\/p>\n Get the DP delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n Sign Up<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis is one of the very few places in the United States where you can be in an ancient Egyptian tomb, so that\u2019s a pretty exciting thing,\u201d Wegner said.<\/p>\n Jo Tiongson-Perez \u2014 Penn Museum\u2019s chief marketing and communications officer \u2014\u00a0highlighted that the exhibition aims to reveal how Egyptian life took many forms by \u201ccentering their humanity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For Wegner, one goal for the remodel was to \u201cpersonalize and humanize the ancient Egyptians\u201d \u2014\u00a0who she said many people view as \u201cexotic and mysterious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times people don\u2019t think of the ancient Egyptians as regular people,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n 2019 Wharton MBA graduate Kris Mendoza is the executive producer and founder of Maestro Filmworks.\u00a0<\/p>\n To him, \u201cvideo has emerged as a necessary storytelling tool.\u201d He led the film\u2019s production and expressed that having the ability to share the stories of an ancient civilization was \u201cfascinating.\u201d<\/p>\n Tiongon-Perez highlighted that while curation is often regarded as a \u201cbehind-the-scenes\u201d process, it\u2019s \u201ca story to be amplified in itself.\u201d As such, it became a focus of the short film.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it takes years and years to carefully care for an object, so that the next generation can learn from it,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n This Emmy recognition reflects a broader shift in Penn Museum\u2019s attempts to engage audiences through media platforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to stay on top of all of those different channels right now, mostly social media,\u201d Tiongon-Perez explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n The goal, she said, is to make it \u201cattention-grabbing enough that will hopefully stop them mid-scroll and they\u2019ll learn something interesting about the museum.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Tiongson-Perez added that the team\u2019s reaction to receiving an Emmy was originally \u201cdisbelief\u201d that was soon \u201covertaken by a lot of gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n Penn Museum hopes to use the recognition to garner excitement over the reimagined Egyptian galleries.<\/p>\n Wegner emphasized that the importance of a regional-Emmy can alert viewers in Philadelphia that \u201cone of the largest collections of Egyptian material in the country\u201d is \u201cin their own backyard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Maestro Filmworks was essential to another University-affiliated Emmy win<\/a> last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company partnered with Penn Medicine on a video about the institution\u2019s Camp Erin project, which won an Emmy in the Short Form Content \u2013 Social Issues category.<\/p>\n Camp Erin is run through Penn Medicine Hospice and serves as a space for children and teens who have lost a loved one.\u00a0<\/p>\n Penn Museum\u2019s exhibition Egypt Galleries: Life and Afterlife will be open<\/a> to the public on Dec. 12, marking the completion of the first phase of a multi-year gallery renovation.<\/p>\n