Smithsonian to Partner With Five Museums in Western U.S.
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has announced a $2 million grant to the American Art Museum from Art Bridges and the Terra Foundation of American Art in support of a partnership with five museums in the western United States.
Comprising the Boise Art Museum; the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno; the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon; the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City; and the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington, the American West Consortium represents the latest effort by the Art Bridges + Terra Foundation Initiative to expand access to outstanding works of American art nationally.
Beginning in September, the five participating museums will present exhibitions of artworks from AAM's collection that capture an interest particular to each museum. Works selected to be shared through the initiative include paintings by David Hockney, Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Fritz Scholder, Alma Thomas, and Domingo Ulloa, while a second exhibition organized jointly by the participants museums will feature works from all six museums. The scope of the exhibition, to open at the Whatcom in early 2021, will be determined by curators at the partner museums, while a related series of professional-growth opportunities featuring staff from the six museums will allow for the development of new interpretive strategies and best practices in the area of community engagement.
"The partnership made possible by the Art Bridges + Terra Foundation Initiative funding opens opportunities for the museum to expand its engagement with young people, communities of color, and immigrant and rural communities whose voices are intrinsic to the American experience," said E. Carmen Ramos, deputy chief curator and curator of Latinx art at the American Art Museum and lead curator for the project. "Without these voices, the landscape of American art museums fails to truly reflect and respond to the multiple, sometimes conflicting, perspectives that make up the American story."
(Image credit: Edward Hopper, Smithsonian American Art Museum)
