from the DIRECTOR
board of ADVISORS
A new year always fills me with excitement and anticipa - tion as I think about all the possibilities for the year.
Carl. W. Mullis III* Gloria B. Norris*** Sylvia Hillyard Pannell Randall S. Ott Gordhan L. Patel Janet W. Patterson Christopher R. Peterson, chair Kathy B. Prescott Julie M. Roth Alan F. Rothschild* Bert Russo Sarah P. Sams** D. Jack Sawyer Jr.* Henry C. Schwob** Margaret R. Spalding Dudley R. Stevens Anne Wall Thomas*** Brenda A. Thompson William E. Torres Carol V. Winthrop Gregory Ann Woodruff
B. Heyward Allen Jr.* Rinne Allen Amalia K. Amaki** June M.Ball Karen L. Benson** Sally Bradley Jeanne L. Berry Devereux C. Burch* Robert E. Burton** Lacy Middlebrooks Camp Shannon I. Candler* Wes Cochran Harvey J. Coleman James Cunningham Martha Randolph Daura*** Todd Emily James B. Fleece John M. Greene** Judith F. Hernstadt Marion E. Jarrell** Jane Compton Johnson* George-Ann Knox* Shell H. Knox*
This year, however, is special. With one full semester as director of the museum under my belt, the start of the 2024 year also marks the beginning of my first full year in a beautiful new community, museum and university. The new year also brings a welcomed new experience with milder winter weather in Georgia. Having grown up in Hawaii, it’s fair to say that my initial adjustment to more frigid winter weather took no small effort. Despite my best efforts and many years there, I never truly got used to the cold winter months in Boston. Needless to say, I’m thrilled to exchange the cold winters in New England for the milder winter months here in Athens. While my appreciation for the warmer weather is not to be underesti- mated, I am even more grateful for the equally warm welcome my wife and I have received during our first semester at UGA. Not a day has passed that someone hasn’t offered to help us settle in, show us around town or checked in just to see how we are doing. Thank you for welcom- ing us to our new home. Jumping into the new year in this new environment has prompted me to think deeply about what it means to belong and feel truly connected to people and places. A poignant James Baldwin quote comes to mind. In a letter to the author Sol Stein, his high school classmate and editor of Baldwin’s classic collection of essays “Notes from a Native Son,” Baldwin wrote:
Ex-Officio Linda C. Chesnut Bree Hayes S. Jack Hu David Odo Jeanette Taylor
Andrew Littlejohn D. Hamilton Magill, chair elect David W. Matheny, immediate past chair Marilyn M. McMullan Marilyn D. McNeely Ibby Mills
* Lifetime member
** Emeritus member
*** Honorary member
“The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I make it.”
It is humbling to consider Baldwin’s words in the context of our current work at the museum. He was referring to the necessity of carving out his own place in a world that did not often welcome him. It serves as a strong reminder to those of us who are invested in making the museum a place for all, that there is much work to be done. What does it mean to truly welcome people into our galleries and par- ticipate in our programs in ways that not only include them, but help them feel like they belong? How can we connect with our community to co-create a museum that is a place where we — our students, faculty, staff and community members — feel at home? It is our responsibility to work with you to make the museum into such a place. Our education department organizes programs ranging from interdisciplinary UGA class visits and artist talks to creative aging pro - grams and Family Days; our curators acquire, research and exhibit works of art in ways that provide opportunities to think and feel in powerful and unexpected ways. In the new year, I look forward to finding new ways to work with you and with new communities to make the museum a place where we can all truly belong.
Mission Statement: The Georgia Museum of Art shares the mission of the University of Georgia to support and to promote teaching, research and service. Specifically, as a repository and educational instrument of the visual arts, the museum exists to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret significant works of art. The W. Newton Morris Charitable Foundation Fund and the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art support exhibitions and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art. The Georgia Council for the Arts also provides support through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. GCA receives support from its partner agency, the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is ADA compliant; the M. Smith Griffith Auditori- um is equipped for deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors. The University of Georgia does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or mili- tary service in its administrations of educational policies, programs or activities; its admissions policies; scholarship and loan programs; athletic or other University-administered programs; or employment. Inquiries or complaints should be directed to the Equal Opportunity Office 119 Holmes-Hunter Academic Building, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Telephone 706-542- 7912 (V/TDD). Fax 706-542-2822. https://eoo.uga.edu/.
Front and back cover: Kei Ito (b. 1991), “Eye Who Witnessed,” 2020 – 22. 108 unique chromogenic photograms (sunlight, historical archive), 8 × 10 inches each.
David Odo, Director
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