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Community College Art Museum Leadership Convening & "Art for All" Public Event

Opening reception for From the Concrete I Rose

Community College Art Museum Leadership Convening: A Gathering to Foster Collaboration and Expand an Understanding of American Art on Two-Year Campuses

October 9 - 10, 2024: Working Sessions - by invitation only; closed to the public

October 10, 2024 from 3:30pm - 5pm: Art for All: Connecting Campus and Community - open to the public  (register >>)

The Housatonic Museum of Art under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Reynolds-Kaye was awarded a $25,000 Convening Grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art for the proposal "Community College Art Museum Leadership Convening: A Gathering to Foster Collaboration and Expand an Understanding of American Art on Two-Year Campuses." Funding will support a first-ever gathering of community college art museum and gallery leaders from across the country and will be proudly hosted at Connecticut State Community College Housatonic in Bridgeport, CT from October 9-10, 2024. 

Community college art museum leaders are responsible for sharing American art with an economically and racially diverse two-year students, and yet there is no currently established community of practice. This gathering will provide the opportunity for community college museum and gallery leaders to identify shared concerns, determine areas of collaboration, and pursue advocacy efforts on behalf of our students and our institutions. Topics of working sessions include:

  1. Current holdings of American art in community college art museums
  2. Making collections of American art accessible
  3. Synergies of American art across community college art museums
  4. Serving our students needs and career development
  5. Advocacy efforts across the field of American art and museums
  6. Engaging students and community members with American art through programs, exhibitions, and educational initiatives.

The convening also includes one public program as a panel discussion around the role of academic art museums and galleries for 2-year campuses. This will be an opportunity for the larger community to learn about the range of community college art museums and galleries around the country, including the major challenges facing the field. 

Confirmed participants include leaders from the Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, MI; the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS; The Art Galleries (TAG) at Austin Community College (ACC) in Austin, TX;  the San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery in San Diego, CA; Foundation Art Collection, Hudson Community College, Jersey City, NJ; Foundation Art College, Ocean County College, Island Heights, NJ; The Cleve Carney Museum of Art, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL; Gallery at Founders’ Hall CT State Community College - Northwestern, Winsted, CT; Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA; Munson Museum of Art, Utica, NY; and the Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum, Coastal Alabama Community College, Bay Minette, AL. 

Financial supporters include the Terra Foundation for American Art; Connecticut Humanities; the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts; the College of DuPage Foundation;  and the Johnson County Community College Foundation.

Jennifer Reynolds-Kaye
Director of the Housatonic Museum of Art
Published
July 02, 2024
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List of participants and their institutions

Dennos Museum Center

Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, MI

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Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS

Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS

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Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum

Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum, Coastal Alabama Community College, Bay Minette, AL

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Housatonic Museum of Art, CT State Housatonic, Bridgeport, CT

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  • Craig Hadley

    Director, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, MI

    Email contact:

    Phone contact: 231-995-1572

    Website URL: dennosmuseum.org

    The Dennos Museum Center builds community, sparks conversation, and inspires change for audiences of all ages through its exhibitions, programs, and the collection and preservation of art. Opened in 1991 and expanded in 2018, the 60,000 square foot Dennos Museum Center is located on the campus of  Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, MI. The museum curates one of the largest contemporary Inuit art collections in the United States, with over 2,000 prints and sculptures ranging from the late 1950s to present day. The Dennos also features a robust temporary exhibition program and produces performances and concerts in its 367-seat Milliken auditorium. In 2021, the Dennos became a Smithsonian Affiliate and most recently joined the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC).

  • JoAnne Northrup

    Executive Director and Chief Curator, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS

    Email contact:

    Phone contact: 415.290.7646

    Website URL: http://www.nermanmuseum.com

    The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art is located on the campus of Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS, a major suburb of Kansas City. The 38,000 square foot building was designed by Kyu Sung Woo Architects. The collection includes approximately 2,000 artworks from 1980 to the present. Four hundred artworks are on display outside the Nerman Museum in buildings across campus and outdoors, integrating contemporary art with the everyday life of more than 15,000 students who attend JCCC. Ten percent of the collection is by contemporary American Indian and First Nations artists, a commitment which likely exceeds that of any other major American museum of contemporary art. The Nerman Museum is also distinguished by the fact that one quarter of the collection and exhibition programming is focused on artists living in or associated with the Kansas City region.

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