FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, MO. (August 29, 2022) – The Springfield Art Museum is pleased to announce a $25,000 Lead Support gift from the Melinda J. McDaniel Charitable Trust for the Humanities, Vol. 1 and Humanities, Vol. 2 special exhibitions and associated educational programs. These exhibitions are the first in a new series of exhibitions – The Humanities – that seek to investigate the 'spark' that begins a connection with art by examining disparate works in the Museum’s permanent collection with a wide range of community members. These exhibitions are facilitated and organized by Curator of Art Sarah Buhr.
Melinda McDaniel was born in Greene County in 1950 and passed away in St. Louis in 2018. The Charitable Trust she established focuses on promoting and educating with respect to the arts, drama, and history with preferences given to organizations located in Greene County, St. Louis, and St. Louis County. “We are grateful for the support of the Melinda J. McDaniel Charitable Trust and inspired by her foresight in establishing this important legacy for arts and culture,” said Museum Director Nick Nelson. “We are excited to welcome our community to investigate their own connections to the Museum’s collection and are appreciative of the McDaniel Charitable Trust in helping us do so.”
Humanities, Vol. 1 is currently on view in the Museum’s Eldredge, Spratlen, and Armstrong Galleries and runs through November 13, 2022. It highlights the people who keep the Museum moving forward including staff, board and committee members, and community partners. Humanities, Vol. 1 features 49 works selected by 36 co-curators accompanied by expanded text from each co-curator describing their connection to the work of art on view. Featured works include paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, ceramics, decorative arts, and textiles. Featured artists include Julie Blackmon, Paul Cadmus, Dwaine Crigger, Morgan Frew, Thomas Hart Benton, Hasui Kawase, Anne Lindberg, Michael Naranjo, Robert E. Smith, Wendy Red Star, and Kara Walker, among many others.
Humanities, Vol. 2 opens September 17 in the Museum’s Weisel and Kelly Galleries and will run through February 12, 2023. It will highlight three local artists in different disciplines – musician Jin J. X, poet Kate Murr, and dancer/choreographer Sarah Wilcoxon. Each artist has selected a group of objects from the Museum’s collection, those works that spoke to them amongst the thousands of art objects they viewed during vault tours. Their selections will be exhibited alongside new work each artist has created in their own medium in response to, and inspired by, the collection objects.
Each exhibition features a full slate of public programs including gallery talks, performances, free take-home project bags, and art-making workshops. Lead support for Humanities, Vol. 1 and Humanities, Vol. 2 is generously provided by the Melinda J. McDaniel Charitable Trust, UW, Bank of America, N.A., Trustees. Additional sponsorship opportunities for these exhibitions, as well as upcoming exhibitions, are available. For more information, contact Kate Francis, Museum Affairs Officer for Development and Fundraising at kate.francis@springfieldmo.gov or 417-874-2865.
The Springfield Art Museum is located at 1111 East Brookside Drive Springfield, MO 65807. Admission is always free. Donations are gratefully accepted.
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The Springfield Art Museum is Springfield, Missouri’s oldest cultural institution, founded in 1928. A department of the City of Springfield, the Museum invites you to connect with the world, your community, and yourself through active engagement with art objects. For more information, please visit www.sgfmuseum.org or contact Joshua Best, Museum Affairs Officer at (417) 874-2859 or jbest@springfieldmo.gov.
