As part of Lunder Institute @, its latest initiative, the Colby College Museum of Art’s Lunder Institute for American Art has invited thought leaders at six of the nation’s most prominent art institutions to engage publicly with a single question: What is the state of American art?
Starting in February, the Lunder Institute will sponsor programs at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, The Broad, Los Angeles, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City.
“Practice and methodology are core interests to the Lunder Institute, and that interest extends beyond individuals — artists, scholars, curators, etc. — within the field of American art; it also extends to institutional practices,” said Erica Wall, Director of the Lunder Institute.
“As a think tank for the field and part of the Colby Museum — one of the leading academic art museums — the Lunder Institute seeks to provide opportunities and resources for institutions to engage with questions related to American art.”
Each institution was asked to respond to the question about the state of American art by having internal conversations across departments and sharing what emerged from these through a public program. This initiative offers space and time to institutions to consider, discuss, and innovatively respond to some of the pressing issues, opportunities, and challenges within the field of American art in relation to their own institution, collection, and location within the United States. Importantly, this work also fosters necessary dialogue within and between institutions.
A primary goal of this initiative is to promote transparency in the field of American art, beyond public-facing exhibitions and scholarship, and to extend that process across each organization, and share a product of that engagement with the public.
“These convenings will promote discourse in an open and fertile space leading toward innovation, new areas of exploration, and possible answers to questions that continue to arise around what American art is and what impacts its production, its scholarship, and its research,” said Jacqueline Terrassa, Carolyn Muzzy director of the Colby Museum.
The schedule for each of the six remote Lunder Institute @ programs:
• Lunder Institute @ the de Young Museum, San Francisco, Feb. 10, 2024
• Lunder Institute @ The Broad, Los Angeles, March 2, 2024
• Lunder Institute @ Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, March 7, 2024
• Lunder Institute @ the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts, April 7, 2024
• Lunder Institute @ Museum of Fine Arts Boston, May 23, 2024
• Lunder Institute @ the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, in September of 2024 (date to be determined).
Join award-winning painter Terri Brooks for “Figures in Pastels,” a workshop designed for experienced pastel artists. Working from a live, costumed model, participants will refine their ability to capture the human form using layered pastel techniques. The class will focus on essential life-drawing skills, using light and shadow to define facial structure and form through […]
The Deer Isle Artists Association announces the March Artist-in-Residence Program on March 4 with artist David McBeth. McBeth is a potter, working primarily with porcelain that is high-fired and ready for the dining table. Additionally, he is a knitter, whose preferred material is wool yarn. A true renaissance man, lately McBeth is also a writer, […]
Established in 2010, The Maine Museum of Photographic Arts is the only museum in Maine dedicated exclusively to photography. Dear Friends of the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, What a transformative year 2024 has been for MMPA. As we reflect on the past twelve months, we’re struck by the extraordinary level of artistry, scholarship and […]
The Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) presents its winter season with the unveiling of two new thought-provoking exhibitions and held an opening reception on Feb. 1. New exhibitions that opened Feb. 1: “The Sun, Trying to Disappear” is a show that speaks of entanglement. The images in this exhibition flutter between icons and mistrusted […]
Crescendo is about reaching new heights, riding the waves of life, climbing peaks, looking up to the zenith, witnessing the culmination of a project, peering over the crest, feeling the surge of emotions. 2025 is a 9 year in numerology, marked by a crescendo of power and experience, acclimation and completion, and new beginnings. Artists […]
Joseph Fiore (1925-2008) was a widely respected artist and active member of the Maine Art Gallery during the 1960s and ‘70s. In celebration of the 100th year of his birth, the gallery is partnering with Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) on an exclusive and overdue major retrospective, “Fiore at 100: Maine Observed.” The show runs June […]
The Midcoast Downeast Chapter of the Union of Maine Visual Artists, in collaboration with Waterfall Arts and Dark Sky Maine presented “Dark Skies: Artwork Honoring Dark Nights in Maine,” which ran from Jan. 17 to Feb. 28 at Waterfall Arts in Belfast. Not only did the exhibit gather a sizable crowd of over 280 people […]
In March the Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery will host its first abstract contemporary artist as its featured artist of the month. Jeanne Maguire, a Maine-based abstract artist, will be the First Friday artist on March 7. Maguire’s show is titled “Feminine Archetypes” and her work is vibrant and expressive, capturing the emotion […]
Youth Art Month is right around the corner. Show your support and celebrate the young artists in this year’s youth show, “Healing Through Color,” on view March 6 to 9. Students from all instructional levels will be featured in the show, which emphasizes the importance of visual arts, creative expression, and access to the arts […]
Receive news and information about Maine artists and events delivered right to your inbox.
