Dark green polka-dotted background with a graphic of a medal and the words “SEMC Competitions” centered. The SEMC logo is also at the bottom.  

SEMC is pleased to announce the 2022 Winners of the

Exhibition, Publication and Technology Competitions and

Student Work in Museums

Congratulations to all! 


Under $25,000 Budget

Gold: Frazier History Museum- West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation

Gold: Museum of the Cherokee Indian/ Asheville Art Museum - A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary in Contemporary Art

Silver: Halsey Institue of Contemporary Art-Dyani White Hawk: Hear Her

Bronze: Asheville Art Museum- Olympics Suite: Artistic Tribute, Golden Hour, and Precious Medals

Bronze:  LSU Museum of Art- The Boneyard: The Ceramics Teaching Collection

Over $25,000 Budget 

Gold:  Tampa Bay History Center- Cuban Pathways

Silver: The Baker Museum- Pam Longobardi- Ocean Gleaning

Bronze:  Asheville Art Museum- Modernist Design at Black Mountain College

Bronze: Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston- Namsa Leuba: Crossed Looks

Over $100,000 Budget 

Gold: The Historic New Orleans Collection- Making Mardi Gras

Gold: The Historic New Orleans Collection- Backstage at A Streetcar Named Desire

Silver: Tennessee State Museum- Painting the Smokies: Art, Community, and the Making of a National Park

Bronze: Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill- Local Economies, Global Impacts

Bronze: Memphis Museum of Science & History- Memphis Proud: the Resilience of a Southern LGBTQ+ Community

Honorable Mention: Customs House Museum & Cultural Center- Explorers Landing Exploring Our Town: An Adventure for All Ages

Honorable Mention: Grassmere Historic Farm, Nashville Zoo at Grassmere- Morton Family Exhibit

Over $1,000,000 Budget 

Gold: Mississippi Museum of Art- A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration

Many thanks to the 2022 Exhibition Competition Chair and Judges:

  • Emilie Arnold, Independent Exhibition Developer & Museum Profession, Dalton, GA

2022 Exhibition Competition Judges:

  • Rebecca Bush, Curator of History/Exhibitions Manager, The Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA
  • Katie Ericson, Senior Manager of School and Volunteer Programs, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
  • Madeleine Miller, Exhibition Designer, Symmetry, Atlanta, GA/Jackson, MS


Category: Best in Show

Georgia Museum of Art- Facet Newsletter

Category: Annual Reports

Gold:  2020 Annual Report- New Orleans Museum of Art

Silver:  2021 A Year in Review- Customs House Museum & Cultural Center

Bronze:  2021 Annual Report with Envelope- Cook Museum of Natural Science

Category: Book & Catalogues

Gold:  Namsa Leuba: Crossed Looks- Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston

Silver:  The World of Marty Stuart Book- Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Bronze:  Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful- The Columbus Museum

Honorable Mention: “Electric Rhythms”- Huntington Museum of Art

Honorable Mention: Crossed Kalunga by the Stars & Other Acts of Resistance- Gregg Museum of Art & Design, North Carolina State University

Category: Brochures and Rack Cards

Gold:  John Leslie Breck Exhibition Brochure- The Mint Museum

Silver:  Means of Identification: New Acquisitions to the WFU Student Union Collection of Contemporary Art, Spotlight- Hanes Gallery, Wake Forest University

Bronze: 2022 Valentine Cards- Cook Museum of Natural Science

Category: Campaigns

Gold:  Form & Fire: American Studio Ceramics from the E. John Bullard Collection Campaign- LSU Museum of Art

Silver:  2022 Volunteer Appreciation Week Campaign- Cook Museum of Natural Science

Bronze:  Explorations of Self: Black Portraiture from the Cochran Collection- Hanes Gallery, Wake Forest University

Honorable Mention: Forces of Nature Fun Day Campaign- Cook Museum of Natural Science

Category: Gallery Guides

Gold: Tennessee at 225: Highlights from the Collection Gallery Guide- Tennessee State Museum

Silver:  Activity Book- Gregg Museum of Art & Design, North Carolina State University

Bronze:  A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art Exhibition Booklet- Asheville Art Museum and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian

Honorable Mention: “A Thousand Miles and Counting” Curriculum Guide- Savannah College of Art and Design

Honorable Mention: Exhibits Scavenger Hunt Series- Cook Museum of Natural Science

Category: Invitations

Gold:  The Mint Museum Coveted Couture Gala Invitation- The Mint Museum

Silver: ‘Pirates & Pearls’ Invitation- Marco Island Historical Society

Bronze: Bestoff Memorial Invitation- New Orleans Museum of Art

Category: Magazines & Newsletters

Gold:  Facet (Newsletter)- Georgia Museum of Art

Silver:  Inspired: The Mint Museum Magazine- The Mint Museum

Bronze:  Second & Commerce- Customs House Museum & Cultural Center

Honorable Mention: Art Talk Newsletter- LSU Museum of Art

Category: Mailers & Calendars

Gold:  2021 Christmas Card- Cook Museum of Natural Science

Silver:  Enchanted Bookmark: Skeleton Pirate- Hunter Museum of American Art

Silver:  Enchanted Bookmark: The Green Children- Hunter Museum of American Art

Bronze: Reception Invites- Customs House Museum & Cultural Center

Category: Posters

Gold: It Came from Storage- The Columbus Museum

Silver:  Mississippi Makers Fest Poster- Mississippi Department of Archives & History

Bronze:  No Food or Drink Poster- Cook Museum of Natural Science

Honorable Mention: Sand Unshaken: The Origin Story of Alma Thomas- The Columbus Museum

Honorable Mention: The Defenders Poster- The Mississippi Department of Archives & History 

Many thanks to the 2022 Publication Competition Chair and Judges:

  • Lizz Biswell (Chair), Associate Director, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, Charleston, SC

2022 Publication Competition Judges:

  • Laura Pelzer, Chief Strategy Officer, Charleston Library Society, Charleston, SC

  • Nandini McCauley, Director of Marketing and Communications, College of Charleston School of the Arts, Charleston, SC



Take a look at the 2022 Virtual Technology Showcase which featured projects from Technology Competition GOLD Winners!

view the Showcase video Here!

Category: Digital Education Winners

Under $1,000

Gold:  The Enslaved Polks, President James K. Polk State Historic Site

Silver:  Family and Educator’s Guide to the Ed Jonson Memorial, Hunter Museum of American Art

Category: Digital Marketing 

Under $1,000

Gold: Hunter Underground/ Above Ground Developmental Campaign, Hunter Museum of American Art

Silver: Maritime Passport, North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport

Bronze: What does a CHUCKWALLA want for Christmas? E-Blast, Cook Museum of Natural Science

$1,001-$4,999

Gold: Queen Nefertari’s Egypt Instagram Video Campaign, New Orleans Museum of Art

Category: Gallery Installations 

$1,001-$4,999

Gold: Making Mardi Gras Digital Interactives & Installations, The Historic New Orleans Collection

Silver: Backstage at A Street Car Named Desire, The Historic New Orleans Collection

Over $10,000

Gold: Magnetic Core Interactive, Cook Museum of Natural Science

Category: Media Production

Under $1,000

Gold: Cartographic Legacies: Maps at The Historic New Orleans Collection, The Historic New Orleans Collection

Silver: North Side Skull and Bone Gang: Big Chief Bruce Sunpie Barnes on the History & Future of One of New Orleans’ Oldest Mardi Gras Traditions, The Historic New Orleans Collection

Bronze: Citizen Science Video, Cook Museum of Natural Science

$1,001-$4,999

Gold: Binder Podcast, Columbia Museum of Art

Silver: Motion to Move Video & Virtual Premiere, New Orleans Museum of Art

Bronze:Dawn DeDeaux: The Space Between Worlds” Exhibition Trailer, New Orleans Museum of Art


$5,000-$9,999

Gold: Souvenirs of Earth: Creative Concept Studio Video, New Orleans Museum of Art

Silver: MYNA Video, Hunter Museum of American Art

Bronze: Queen Nefertari’s Egypt Mobile Guide, New Orleans Museum of Art

Over $10,000

Gold: The Defenders: How Lawyers Protected the Movement, Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Category: Virtual Media

Under $1,000

Gold: #TeamNick Social Media Campaign, Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Silver: “Enchanted” Social Media Campaign, Hunter Museum of Art

Bronze: Sustainability Webpage, Customs House Museum & Cultural Center

Many thanks to the 2022 Technology Competition Chairs:

  • Scott Warren, Historic Site Manager II, President James K. Polk State Historic Site, Pineville, North Carolina 
  • Scotty Almany, Digital Media, Programming & Exhibit Logistics Manager, Birthplace of Country Music

2022 Technology Competition Jury Foreman

  • Alexander Brooks, Education Manager, Gaston County Museum, Dallas, North Carolina     

2022 Technology Competition Jurors

  • Truly Matthews, Curator of Education, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA
  • Lizz Biswell, Associate Director, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art College of Charleston, Charleston, SC
  • Arrow Salkeld, Collections Specialist, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department, Historic Resources and Museum Program, Raleigh, NC
  • Kate Daly, Visual Culture Archivist, Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, GA
  • Drew Ulrich, Curator, Division of Arkansas Heritage, Delta Cultural Center, Helena, AR 

2022 Student Work in Museums Award Winners

Radical Access: Neurodiverse Adult Programming

Lee Anne Spear, Museum Studies M.A., The International Spy Museum

The George Washington University

Digital Storytelling and User Experience in Online Exhibition Development

Mia Jackson, English & Art History, Gadsden Arts Center & Museum

Florida State University

Frameworks: Designing a Board Game for the Academic Art Gallery

Dianna Bradley, Museum Education and Visitor Centered Curation PhD, Audrey Jacob, Museum Education and Visitor Centered Curation PhD, Ashley Williams, Museum Education and Visitor Centered Curation PhD, Minki Jeon, Art Education PhD, Florida State University Museum of Fine Art

Florida State University

Beyond the Book: Incorporating the Contextual Model of Learning to Curriculum Development

Paige Perryman, History and Political Science, Belle Meade Historic Site

Mississippi State University

Why Academic Museums Need Student Advisory Boards: A Case Study of the McClung Student Advisory Board (MSAB)

Sadie Counts, Anthropology PhD; Sean Burke, College Scholars: Museum Accessibility; Lisette Morris, Art History; McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture

University of Tennessee

Many thanks to the 2022 Student Work in Museums Chairs & Judges:

  • Lana Burgess (Chair), Clinical Professor, Art and History and Museum Studies, Faculty Curator, McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

  • Katy Malone (Chair), Curator of Academic Programs, McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TX

  • Brian Young (Juror), Director, Baum Gallery, Department of Art and Design, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR