WAM Warmer

Beginning on Friday, January 24, WAM Collective, the Weisman Art Museum’sstudent group, will be presenting the “WAM Warmer,” a pop-up structure on Northrop’s plaza. The pop-up is inspired by WAM’s spring exhibition, Siberia Imagined and Reimagined, a collection of photographs spanning over 130 years by 50 Russian photographers exploring the depths of Siberia, never before showcased in the United States. While researching Siberia, WAM Collective and the Weisman Art Museum have made connections between the characteristics of the Siberian terrain, weather, urban and rural environments, and folk culture with that of our own home, Minnesota. To celebrate the exhibition, as well as to celebrate Minnesota, WAM Collective will be building a pop-up inspired by a traditional chum (pronounced “choom”), a temporary dwelling used by the nomadic Yamal-Nenets and Khanty reindeer herders of northwestern Siberia, Russia. In an effort to keep the exploration of Siberian culture strictly observational, WAM Collective’s goal is not to take from the culture and recreate what is not their own, but instead to create a space based on the traditional chum, but reflective of our culture in Minnesota.

This interactive, ephemeral experience will be available for students to explore from Thursday, January 23 to Thursday, January 30 on Northrop’s main plaza. After its short stay, the nomadic structure will migrate to the Weisman Art Museum for the exhibition opening of Siberia Imagined and Reimagined on Friday, January 31, 2014 (A free opening - all students are welcome!). A space for students to stop and warm up on their trek through the snowy campus, the “WAM warmer” will also incorporate an interactive tour of the U of M campus, highlighting the many under-explored gems of the University. This tour, inspired by the vastness of Siberia and the many unexplored areas it contains, will lead students on an adventure including secret sledding behind Coffman union, star-gazing at the Tate Physics Lab, and, of course, a trip to the Weisman Art Museum.