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Grey Cohoe’s painting “To Dawn Drummer They Rhyme” at left in the H. Randolph Holder Gallery.
solo exhibition at the museum). De Waal, Amos and Ito all make use of research, archives and ephemera in their artistic practice, fitting for a museum at a top-tier research university. The grant also funded the installation of two wall drawings by Sol LeWitt in the museum’s lobby, one of which was created with substantial input and partici- pation by UGA students. “Wall Drawing #869, Copied Lines” begins with a single, varied, horizontal black line. Individuals then copy that line carefully in either red, blue or yellow marker, creating a pattern that almost seems to breathe on the wall. Several UGA classes and many of our museum interns contributed their own lines as part of the project, which will be on display for three years. Students expressed their appreciation and enthu- siasm for the opportunity to have hands-on involvement in the project. Kathryn Hill, the museum’s associate curator of modern and contemporary art (now a grant-funded position), has seen her responsibilities expand and has been leading the museum’s work with contemporary artists and new acquisitions as part of the grant. We also used project funds last fall to hire Ciel Rodriguez as curatorial assistant in contemporary art and Alexis Gorby as associate curator of academic and campus engagement, both new positions. Gorby is focusing on teaching university course visits to the museum from all departments using the collections, with a focus on contemporary art. She is also training stu- dent guides who will begin giving tours this semester and managing the museum’s internship program. Grant funds also supported Mary Alice Smith (AB ’24), now a master’s of art history graduate student at the University of Texas, when she was an intern in con- temporary art at the museum. As part of her activities,
working alongside Hill, she helped curate the exhibition “The Artist as Witness,” which served as a companion piece to “Joel Sternfeld: When It Changed.” “I really enjoyed my time at the Georgia Museum of Art,” she said. “All of the staff are very encouraging and I really learned a lot about what it is like working in the museum field. I gained hands-on experience that will benefit me in the future. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to work here.” Research is critical to curatorial practice, and grant funds have enabled our curators to conduct research at the Venice Biennale, the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and artists’ studios. The funds have also helped us bring important artists, educators, scholars and curators to the museum, where they have met and consulted with the museum team and UGA students. Behind the scenes, we have collaborated with Crystallizations Systems, Inc. (CSI) to design two cus- tom-fit rolling screen storage rack systems and one wall-mounted storage screen to be installed in one of the museum’s art storage areas this summer. These units meet museum industry standards for safe storage and preservation of art collections and are compatible with extant CSI storage units in the museum’s vaults. The system’s 21 screens maximize the storage area for large paintings and for storing new works purchased through the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation grant as they are rotated in and out of our gallery spaces. As you can tell, there’s been a lot going on, and students and other museum visitors are only beginning to see the results of that work.
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