Hi I'm Laura Aasland. Museums are my passion.
I am a museum exhibit and outreach coordinator with significant experience in visitor engagement, education, museum exhibit design, writing and outreach. Skilled in creating museum engagement and visitor education programs, I have planned, developed and organized numerous exhibits.
Having grown up as an American in Kazakhstan from ages 2 to 18, I am very interested in building intercultural connections between people and communities through art. I recently served as the lead curator for AS Gallery exhibit Step Into Central Asia which involved collaborating with numerous artists from Central Asia. In May 2023 I received my MA in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University.
My museum experience includes collections, curation, installation, visitor experience design and juror for the Global Museum at SFSU, Angel Island Immigration Station, SFSU Fine Arts gallery, Associated Students Art Gallery, Cartoon Art Museum and apexart.
Recent Projects
April 2023, AS Art Gallery, SFSU
The purpose of this exhibit was to introduce SFSU students and the local Bay Area community to Central Asian artists in the Bay Area and to provide information and insight into Central Asian cultural practices and traditions. The exhibit itself was be a mixture of modern and traditional influences, showing how Central Asian artists carry their culture with them in everyday life. There was modern art in various mediums from Central Asian artists as well as traditional outfits, poetry and musical instruments.
October - November 2022, AS Art Gallery
The Cave is an exhibition first shown in October 2022 at the Associated Students Art Gallery. The work was intensely personal as students shared artworks created around aspects of trauma and transformation. The exhibit touched on deeply significant topics such as eating disorders, gender identity, self-harm, cultural identity, anxiety, and suicide. Visitors were given an opportunity to write about their own journeys on individual sheets and then throw these in a cauldron provided.
May 2022 "Show & Tell" at the Global Museum, SFSU
The Show & Tell exhibit at the Global Museum featured items from the students’ lives in displays that reveal the deeply personal stories behind them. The concept was to take the beloved "Show and Tell" from Kindergarten and transport it to young adulthood. Visitors will see everything from a childhood soccer medal to an elaborate, Lord of the Rings-worthy wizard costume created for Renaissance fairs.