When tasked with curating a new art exhibit for the Humanities Center, BYU students Allie Sena and Natalie Rasmussen looked to the Garden of Eden for inspiration.
Many people think of art curation in museum settings, involving long-term planning, large spaces, and curators who have full creative freedom. Allie Sena (Art History, French Studies ’26) and Natalie Rasmussen (Comparative Studies MA ’26) found themselves in very different circumstances when they were asked to curate a new art exhibit for BYU’s Humanities Center. Working with a small room and a short deadline, the pair took on the complicated task and created an exhibit that displays unity across humanity.
The Curation
Sena and Rasmussen received the assignment to curate this exhibit as part of their Studies in Curatorship class. Although neither had curated an exhibit before, they felt aligned in their ideas for the installation. They were both interested in the Garden of Eden, and they were also drawn to the idea of exploring human unity. As they brainstormed, they realized that the story of the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve connects the whole human family, offering a unique take on unity.
They called their exhibit “Heirs of Eden: Reuniting the Human Family,” and focused on a central idea: “Unity between people—especially unity in families, and the human family at large,” Rasmussen explains. Sena and Rasmussen centered their planning process around finding works of art that communicated their theme, looking for pieces both online and in person at local art galleries.
The students had to be flexible throughout the process as their ideas changed and as the availability of certain pieces shifted. Even though the two sometimes hit dead ends, with every draft they felt that the exhibit was getting better and better. The curation process did take longer than they had planned, but Sena says, “I’m really grateful that we took the time to be very intentional, and even spiritual, in our process.”
The Pieces
From the exhibit, Sena particularly enjoys Cleave by Sarah Winegar, a woodcut print depicting a man and a woman embracing. “It exemplifies a lot of what we wanted this exhibition to portray, this idea of cleaving to one another,” Sena says, noting that it alludes to Adam and Eve and their need to cleave to one another and to God to make it through their challenges. “That is something we wanted people to feel in the exhibition, that no matter what’s going on in the world, we want to inspire people to choose unity and cleave to one another.”
Rasmussen appreciates Hands in Need by Arianne Reed, a ceramic piece that shows hands piled on top of each other. On a plaque describing the piece, Rasmussen and Sena wrote, “Hands not only symbolize connection but also creation. A shared heritage of divine creation unites all of humanity, making each life sacred.” Rasmussen says the piece “represents the human family all working together. We all need each other.”
Unity on Many Levels
This experience brought unity in more than one area of the exhibit. In placing the works of art, Rasmussen found it interesting to see “how all the different styles of art, all the different time periods, and the influences they’ve had can all come together into one beautiful show.” She had a similar experience working with the artists, observing how they each created and interpreted unity in their art.
Both students hope that this idea of unity is evident for those who visit the exhibit. Sena says, “We wanted people to be able to feel awe and love for other humans as part of God’s creation.” They also hope the exhibit offers viewers a respite from the chaos and division of the world, prompting people to “feel empowered,” Rasmussen says, “to create unity in their own lives, in their own spaces, and in their own families.”
For Sena, the theme is a call to action. “This is something that we can take into the world with us, beyond BYU,” she says. “We can all love each other and work to understand each other even when it feels hard.”
Learn more about the Humanities Center here.