Annette Elliot’s “The Museum” Challenges Perceptions of Art and Belonging
A new short film from Chicago-based filmmaker Annette Elliot is sparking conversation about representation, access, and the hidden lives within the walls of one of the world’s leading art institutions.
Annette Elliot, a writer and director whose work explores the intersection of cinema, art history, and architecture, has unveiled her latest project, “The Museum” (2024). The film, which premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival and was featured at the Midwest Film Festival, offers a nuanced perspective on the Art Institute of Chicago, moving beyond its iconic architecture to examine its role as a complex racial, cultural, and political space.
Elliot’s work consciously draws from painting, sculpture, and the built environment, investigating how aesthetic traditions both shape and obscure cultural meaning. “The Museum” achieves this through a series of intersecting narratives, featuring the diverse individuals who inhabit the museum daily – artists, curators, historians, conservators, security guards, and janitors. By giving voice to these often-overlooked perspectives, Elliot challenges conventional assumptions about museums as exclusively “white spaces” and interrogates the historical erasures embedded within traditional ideals of beauty and classical art.
The inspiration for the film stemmed from Elliot’s experiences teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. “I teach at the School of the Art Institute, and we’ve always had a partnership with the museum so I can take my students into the galleries,” Elliot explained. “Because I was there so often, I started getting to know the security guards, the janitors — the people there every day. I began imagining a ‘day in the life’ of the museum and the different people it brings together.”
The initial concept centered on following individuals whose lives briefly intersect within the museum’s galleries. Elliot’s casting choices reflect her commitment to authenticity and depth. Charín Álvarez, who portrays the art historian, was selected for her “expressive face—a kind of underlying sadness,” according to Elliot, who had previously admired Álvarez’s work in Chicago theater productions like Pedro Paramo at the Goodman Theatre. James Vincent Meredith, playing the artist, also boasts a strong theatrical background and is known for his role in the television series Boss. Notably, Elliot incorporated non-actors into the film, casting actual security guards and janitors from the Art Institute of Chicago to lend an added layer of realism.
The film’s visual aesthetic was meticulously crafted to evoke the atmosphere of classical paintings. Elliot and her cinematographer drew inspiration from masters like Eugène Delacroix, utilizing storyboards and reference photos taken within the museum’s galleries. To achieve this painterly quality, they chose to shoot on 16mm film, embracing its inherent depth, texture, and grain. “16mm film can be more cumbersome these days,” Elliot acknowledged, “but I think the slower process worked.” The decision to use film also presented logistical challenges, requiring careful coordination with museum curators regarding lighting restrictions, particularly in the ancient Greek galleries.
Elliot hopes “The Museum” will prompt viewers to reconsider their own perspectives on art and belonging. “People in the art world…connect deeply with how the film portrays museum spaces and the idea of who gets included,” she noted, adding that the artist character is an amalgamation of those who have historically fought for representation within institutions. She highlighted the current exhibition of Elizabeth Catlett’s work at the museum as an example of an artist whose contributions were initially overlooked.
The film also draws attention to the often-unacknowledged history of color in classical art. Elliot pointed out that Greek sculptures, now typically viewed as pristine white, were originally painted, and that the preference for the uncolored version reflects a particular aesthetic bias. She emphasized the importance of recognizing how perspective shapes our understanding of art, noting the different relationships individuals have with it – the conservator’s tactile connection, the teacher’s intellectual approach, and the security guard’s familiar, everyday experience.
Audiences have responded positively to the film’s thought-provoking themes. One viewer recalled observing sculptures in the Modern Wing of the Art Institute that were intentionally rendered white, with blue fragments marking missing pieces, and noted that the sculptures appeared more compelling with color.
Looking ahead, Annette Elliot’s next feature film project, “On the Water’s Edge,” has been selected for the 2025-2026 CIX Lab and will be presented at the Chicago International Film Festival The Pitch. More information about the project can be found at https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/industry/lab/projects2026/.
Charín Álvarez, “The Museum”
James Vincent Meredith, “The Museum”
