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In the summer of 2019, Karin Sprang's CHIP placement was at St. John’s Hospital Museum, Bruges, Belgium.

“I spent three months interning at Saint John’s Hospital in Bruges, supervised by chief curator Ruud Priem. My main task was to assist with the preparations for the exhibition Heaven in a Nutshell: Art and Devotion in the Age of Burgundy, scheduled for October 2020. This exhibition will tell the story of private devotion in the Southern Netherlands, and bring to the stage over seventy-five devotional objects made between 1400 and 1525. 

Through extensive research in online collections and art-historical literature, I helped to further define the structure of the exhibition and created a preliminary list of loans: a carefully compiled document organising numerous objects that will potentially be displayed. Approaching this exhibition from both an academic and a practical point of view, I was able to bring in my own ideas and actively participate in the exhibition’s coming into being. 

It has been a valuable and exciting experience to be a part of this project and witness first-hand how exhibitions come to life; how strongly objects’ contexts will influence their meaning, and how the concept of heritage becomes almost palpable in a city such as Bruges and a museum such as Saint John’s Hospital. This opportunity has allowed me to apply theoretical knowledge already learned, gain substantial insights into a field before unknown, and tighten my grasp on a history that October will reveal.”

Class of 2019, HUM Major