EUGENE, Ore. -- (May 8, 2018) – This spring, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon will host a special series of lectures by museum directors titled “Museum Roles in Challenging Times.”
“The role of both academic and public museums changes in response to the needs of society,” says JSMA Executive Director Jill Hartz. “We’ve invited four museum directors to reflect on that role in terms of their own institutions and the field at large.”
The David and Anne McCosh Memorial Visiting Lecturer Series on Northwest Art begins the series on Wednesday, May 16 at 5:30 p.m. “Thoughts on a Museum of Wonder” is the subject for Linda Tesner, Director of the Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art. Tesner brings a wealth of experience to thie topic and will share her thoughts on what elements she believes create delight in a visual art experience. She will propose an alternative to traditional art museums through illustrated comments created from the breadth of private collections in our state.
“Linda Tesner is the third McCosh Visiting Lecturer in our annual series that brings Pacific Northwest Art curators, scholars, and artists to the JSMA,” says Danielle Knapp. “This talk will explore the roles and responsibilities of public institutions and private collections and in shaping the public perception of art and collecting here in Oregon.
On Wednesday, May 30, 5:30 p.m. “On Display” Curating 75 Years of Japanese-American Incarceration” is the subject chosen by Craig Hadley, Director and Curator of Exhibitions and University Collection, Richard E. Peeler Art Center at DePauw University. Hadley will discuss how the critical lens of the museum exhibition can interpret the Japanese-American internment experience.
“Sticky and Elastic: Museums in Times of Change” takes place on Saturday, June 2, at 2 p.m. Kristina Durocher, Director, Museum of Art at the University of New Hampshire, will look closely at the way museums can and should adapt to meet the demographics and needs of the communities they serve.
The series concludes on Wednesday, June 6, at 5:30 p.m. with Kristian Anderson, Executive Director of the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. “Tackling Contemporary Issues” draws on Anderson’s experience navigating exhibitions with difficult contemporary art in a notably conservative community to demonstrate how the museum has pushed dialog both locally and nationally.
DETAILED SCHEDULE
Museum Roles in Challenging Times
The David and Anne McCosh Memorial Visiting Lecturer Series on Northwest Art:
Thoughts on a Museum of Wonder
Wednesday, May 16, 5:30 p.m.
Lecture by Linda Tesner , Director, Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art
University of Oregon alumna Linda Tesner has spent her thirty-eight-year curatorial career in Pacific Northwest institutions as varied as Maryhill Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, and the Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art at Lewis & Clark College. From this vantage point, Tesner has developed thoughts on the elements she believes creates delight in a visual art experience. Her illustrated comments draw on the richness of private collections found in Oregon as she proposes an alternative to traditional art museums.
The David and Anne McCosh Memorial Visiting Lecturer Series on Northwest Art is an annual program presenting topics related to Pacific Northwest art history and it contemporary connections. This lecture series is generously funded by the McCosh Memorial Endowment Fund, which supports the JSMA’s initiatives in the research, care, exhibition, and dissemination of the McCosh collection and archives and related materials by other regional artists.
On Display: Curating 75 Years of Japanese-American Incarceration
Wednesday, May 30, 5:30 p.m.
Lecture by Craig Hadley, Director and Curator of Exhibitions and University Collection, Richard E. Peeler Art Center, DePauw University
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Oder 9066 resulted in the mass incarceration of 12,000 Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast. This lecture introduces the Japanese-American internment experience through the critical lens of the museum exhibition. How has our nation’s most trusted source for information – the museum – shaped the way we encounter, process, and ultimately acknowledge the past and the living present? How did mass media respond to these public revisions and re-representations of history and justice? Historical and contemporary artists, along with a number of regional and national exhibitions, will further frame the conversation and provide avenues for connection to the current political discourse in the U.S.
Craig Hadley is Director/Curator with the rank of Assistant Professor at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He oversees the recently accredited University Galleries & Collections, which serves as a hub for undergraduate teaching and research. Hadley also regularly teaches independent studies, introductory museum workshops, and reading topics in museum studies. Prior to his tenure at DePauw University, he held various curatorial, education, and collection roles at Beloit College, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Indiana State Museum, and the Missouri History Museum.
Sticky and Elastic: Museums in Times of Change
Saturday, June 2, 2 p.m.
Lecture by Kristina Durocher, Director, Museum of Art, University of New Hampshire
As an active member of museum associations in the Northeast as well as a board member of the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, Duocher closely collows the ways museum adapt to the needs and demographics of their communities.
Durocher serves as both the director and curator of the Museum of Art of the University of New Hampshire in Duram. Previously, she was assistant curator, the curator, of collections at Fitchburg Art Museum (2004-2011). Her curatorial program embraces one-person and group thematic exhibitions that support student learning and faculty instruction and facilitate teaching through art as a primary source for academic and social engagement. She currently serves on the board of directors of the New England Museum Association and as the New England Regional Representative for the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries. In 2017, she completed the Getty Leadership Institute. Durocher holds an M.A. in Art History from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with a concentration in contemporary art. She received a dual B.F.A. in Art History and Painting from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston.
Tackling Contemporary Issues
Wednesday, June 6, 5:30 p.m.
Lecture by Kristian Anderson, Executive Director, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.
Contemporary art, especially art that aims to stimulate action on, or draw attention to social and political issues, can become a lightning rod to those who disagree with its perceived purpose. Still, museums and artists persist in putting forth work they feel is vital to building an educated citizenry that enjoys dialogue and respects differing opinions. Anderson, who navigates the exhibition of challenging contemporary art in the conservative environment of Utah, offers specific examples and discusses how the work of the museum has pushed lical and national dialog.
Anderson has serves as the executive director of the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art since early 2014. Previously, he serves as the first full-time directory of the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, a national organization that specializes in education and advocacy for museums as well as helping to set museum standards. He has run contemporary art spaces at the University of Washington and the University of Colorado.
About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public. The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, Europe, and the Americas as well as changing special exhibition galleries. The JSMA is one of seven museums—and the only academic art museum-- in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.
Contact: Debbie Williamson Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu
Links: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu
