Show Me Something I Don’t Know was an exhibition curated by Riva Symko for the University of Alberta Museums (UAM) Galleries. The exhibition featured over 700 travel photographs and albums sourced from travel enthusiasts and photographers – amateur to professional. This exhibition was a companion to China Through the Lens of John Thomson (1868 – 1872)curated by Betty Yao, which was exhibited at the UAM Galleries concurrently. Show Me Something I Don’t Knowalso included a suite of photographs by 19thCentury photographer, Joe Weiss from the University of Alberta Art Collection.
Show Me Something I Don’t Know Curatorial Statement:
John Thomson was a pioneer of photography and travelling in the 19th century. He was able to take pictures of places and people with no other agenda than his own personal interest; a rare occurrence in that time period. Thanks to early pioneers like Thomson, photographs have become synonymous with travelling, and the most ideal way to document a trip.
Nowadays, capturing a moment while travelling is instantaneous and the only limitations are the amount of space on your iPhone or SD Card. Show Me Something I Don’t Knowwas an exhibition that documented our contemporary travel adventures, and acted as a space to share these experiences. This exhibition demonstrated how far the idea of a travelogue has come since John Thomson’s travels in China 150 years ago.