The Customer is Always Right is a multidisciplinary exhibition that confronts the everyday violence, exploitation, and absurdity embedded in low-wage service labor. As both artists and part-time retail workers, Communication Design student-curators Lucy Morely and Robbie Wigfall draw from firsthand experiences of burnout, emotional labor, performative cheer, and daily micro-abuses that come with serving the public.

Spanning multiple mediums, the exhibition captures the dread, humor, rage, and surrealism of life behind the counter. At its center is an immersive paper-mâché installation: two life-sized figures caught in a grotesque retail encounter—one a zombie-like, melting employee, the other a “Karen” with an old television for a head. A nearby TV loops real retail horror stories submitted by workers, amplifying the voices behind the experience.

 Through works that blend humor, critique, and resistance, The Customer is Always Right illuminates the dehumanization of service labor while reclaiming the narratives of burnout, grief, and survival. Morely and Wigfall highlight the unique perspective of student artists and workers, inviting dialogue on labor, identity, and survival both within and beyond the art world.

Lucy Morely is a junior and Robbie Wigfall is a senior majoring in Communication Design. Together, they serve on the board of the university’s chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), where they work to advance design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force.