Apsalooke at The Field Museum

When Chicago’s Field Museum invited native people—the artists, artisans and scholars of the Apsàalooke people of the Northern Plains—to tell and curate their own story, the resulting exhibit not only brought exquisite bead work and 100-year-old battle shields to public view, it broke important cultural barriers. The Apsàalooke Women and Warriors exhibit offers a glimpse of the history, values and beliefs of the Apsàalooke people, as well as vibrant works of art and rare artifacts.

Bringing that history to light required not only respect for the subject matter and the rare artifacts presented—some of which were coming to exhibit for the first time—but extreme care in all aspects of the presentation. Morlights’ established partnership with the Field meant that our lighting designers were the trusted choice to provide exhibit-appropriate lighting. Our technical mastery meant a lighting design and controls that not only provide safety for visitors and a beautiful visual experience but also allow curators to precisely measure and monitor the amount of light on the most delicate artifacts.

Through Morlights’ extensive prototyping process, we were able to design for all project requirements, from setting a mood at the exhibit entrance to lighting extremely light-sensitive objects. Highly technical artifact lighting is designed to allow conservators to record real-time light exposure and is now being used as a template for other institutions to follow.

Our contributions helped highlight native culture, set anew standard for protecting fragile artifacts and create a stirring visitor experience at the Field.

“Design helped bring the drama of this culture to life, while protecting it for future generations to experience.”—Avi Mor