Edward Hopper and the American Hotel

A major traveling exhibition exploring how Edward Hopper’s art was shaped by his fascination with the hotels, motels, and other lodging spaces of American popular travel culture. At Newfields, the exhibition was adapted to create a more inclusive, immersive, relevant, and accessible experience, expanding the stories and perspectives surrounding Hopper’s work. The experience invited visitors to consider how Americans participated in the growing culture of travel and hospitality in different ways shaped by race, gender, and wealth, while making personal connections to their own experiences of travel, place, and memory.

My Role

I led the interpretive and experience-development strategy for adapting the traveling exhibition to meet Newfields’ educational, community engagement, and experiential goals. I developed the interpretive tools and learning framework, incorporating opportunities for visitors to explore the social and cultural history of American travel while making personal connections to the exhibition’s themes. I led formative testing with guests to gather feedback and refine the interpretive approach and visitor experiences. In response to COVID-19, I also guided the reimagining of hands-on experiences throughout the 10,000-square-foot gallery, adapting them to create safe, meaningful visitor interactions while preserving the exhibition’s core content and experiences. I presented nationally on the project’s approach to adapting experiential learning during the pandemic.