Bowdoin College Museum of Art Bowdoin College
Brunswick art lovers have reason to rejoice. After more than a year shuttered due to the pandemic, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art will reopen its doors to visitors starting July 1.
With the reopening, the museum will present four new exhibitions along with re-examination of the museum’s collection in a new Bowdoin gallery installation.
“We are looking forward to welcoming people back to the museum,” said Frank Goodyear, art co-director of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
“We spent nearly 15 months working on our new exhibitions,” Goodyear added. “The public will have a wonderful time learning about them.”
The museum’s hours will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.
The reopening exhibits highlight the depth and breadth of museum’s collection, he added.
Under COVID-19 safety precautions, the museum will allow visitors inside in a phased manner, with a limit of 100 people at a time. All the visitors are required to wear masks and follow physical distancing rules.
Speaking about the museum’s art collection, Ann Collins Goodyear said, “All of our exhibitions challenge conventional viewpoints and assumptions about the impact of art and culture across different societies, wide geographies, and over several centuries. This fits with our belief that there is always more to learn and new interpretations through which we can learn more about both the art of the past and about ourselves.”
Ann Collins Goodyear believes that museums provide an effective way of learning and helps people think about world around them in new ways. “Museums are a great place to know and understand other cultures better,” she added.
Meanwhile, to help public navigate and understand the exhibits better, printed maps and programs will be offered to visitors. No reservations are required to visit the museum.
Considering, the present pandemic situation, there are no in-person tours being conducted at the museum this summer. However, the officials said that lectures and other special events will be conducted virtually.
The Presence of Past: Art from Central and West Africa at Bowdoin College Bowdoin College
New exhibitions that are now open to public
“Re | Framing The Collection: New Considerations In European And American Art 1475–1875:” The exhibition explores the intertwined stories of Europeans and their American descendants with Indigenous and enslaved peoples whose lives have long been erased from historical narratives.
“New Views of The Middle Ages: Highlights From The Wyvern Collection:” Curated by Kathryn Gerry, Bowdoin College’s visiting assistant professor of Art History, the exhibition includes over 50 works from one of the world’s premier private collections, many of which have not been publicly presented before, covering the period from the 6th through the 16th Centuries. Originally scheduled to open in September 2020, the public presentation was delayed by the museum’s closure due to the pandemic, while an online version was launched.
“The Presence of The Past: Art From Central And West Africa and Creeping Pavement:” The exhibition brings together works from the museum’s collection as well as the objects on long-term loan from the Wyvern collection.
“Creeping pavements: Depictions of an Urbanizing America:” Curated by the members of the 2019–2020 Student Museum Collective, this exhibition traces the evolution of the American city as it grew into its own distinct environment and explores the many ways artists reacted to the rapid urbanization of American life.
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