The Kirkland Arts center (KAC) kicked off a new exhibit last week that fuses academics with artistic expression.

“Off the Map” is the inaugural event of KAC’s Emerging Curator Initiative that is a partnership with the University of Washington’s Museology Graduate Program. The initiative allows a graduate student of the program to plan and execute an exhibition hosted in the KAC Gallery, as part of their master’s thesis project. Once selected, the student works closely with representatives of both organizations to plan and shape the exhibit. The initiatives first candidate is Jill Hardy, of Seattle.

“I wanted to make sure that being the maiden voyage, it was done well,” Hardy said. “I came to the conclusion (after research), that maps show us things that we don’t normally see. Maps show things that are too big and complex – you’ll never be able to see it with your own eyes. It reveals the unknown, in a way. It makes the unknown more visible.”

In her role as curator, Hardy conducted original research on map-making before selecting the artwork and setting up the exhibit.

“I’d like them (viewers) to walk away with the idea that things in our life, whether we can see them or not are intricately connected,” Hardy said.

Off the Map runs through March 10. It will feature work from national artists, including Scott Bailey, Liz Hickok, Maya Lin, Matthew Picton, Hugo Solis and Bruce Hemingway, Jane Tsong, and Claude Zervas.

“I think we will have a strong showing,” said Cable Griffith, Exhibitions director. “It’s a really strong show that has a focus with a lot of appeal. We use maps more than we ever have. It’s a really hot issue right now.”

The exhibition’s catalog features a forward from Griffith and an essay from Hardy. As the program developed, there were two grants awarded to KAC: one for the production of the catalog and another for the lecture at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle.

Hardy said Griffith and KAC did not go through a lot of other ideas before settling on the exhibit theme.

“Artists are starting to appropriate a lot of the technology, parts of the medium, a lot of the ideology and symbolism that goes along with map making,” Hardy said. “They use it for their own creative output.”

Hardy currently works at Seattle’s Frye Art Museum in the Communications Department. She earned her BFA in photojournalism from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2001 and worked in the photography industry until deciding to pursue museum studies. While pursuing studies at Rochester, she worked at the George Eastman House in the Web Department. She also worked on the Digital Interactive Galleries (DIG) project at the Henry Art Gallery downtown. She has had work published in magazines.

Hardy will graduate with her master’s in June.

For information

Visit Jill Hardy’s Web site at www.jillghardy.com.

The Kirkland Arts Center is located at 620 Market Street in Kirkland.

Artist Lecture: the Henry Art Gallery Auditorium. Friday, Feb. 26, 8:30 p.m.