(Re)Collections: Drawn from the Vault presents new original artworks from first-year Master of Fine Arts in Illustration and Visual Culture students, created and curated in response to materials from the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections at WashU Libraries. 

Each student’s project is drawn from a process of critical research and creative interpretation of archival materials. Exploring themes of metamorphosis, memory, and authenticity, this exhibition provides new modes of audience engagement with a variety of archival materials and activates these collections through creative practice. 

Students began viewing and analyzing materials from across each collecting area and responded in sketchbooks through writing and illustration. From there, they selected the material and subjects they were interested in and created their own artworks inspired by these pieces. They then organized individual exhibitions that present these works alongside the collection items to illustrate the potential of archival research within creative practice.