They organized extravagant spectacles, each more lavish than the next. They built imposing monuments, ever larger to outdo their predecessors and rivals. Over centuries, the Maya leaders elevated themselves far above their subjects. Yet in the end, these all-powerful rulers were caught in a trap of their own making.

Written by Stephanie Allen, ROM Registrar

There is an incredible amount of work that happens behind-the-scenes in preparing for every exhibition. Some of that work is eventually obvious to the visitors such as the design, mounts, graphics and labels but a lot of the work is largely invisible.

Here at the ROM, a project team is hard at work bringing Maya: Secrets of their Ancient World to life. The exhibition opens November 19, but ROM staff have been immersed in the project for well over a year!

Emilio Genovese, ROM Exhibit Designer, is a key member of the project team. Today he is working with an artist to finalize large graphic murals that will appear throughout the exhibition. We asked him to answer a few questions about the murals and tell us a little more about his role on the exhibition project team.

By Brian Boyle, ROM Senior Photgrapher.

In celebration of Dinomania! this weekend, we wanted to share details about a new technique we are experimenting with in the photo studio.  Recently, I began to explore how the ROM could use emerging technologies to provide virtual tours of our galleries (if you haven’t already heard about the Google Art Project, take a look!)