Projects for the 2011-12 Academic Year
Now open - The Gallery - Home of the American Museum of Asmat Art at the University of St. Thomas
Graduate assistants Rachel Simmons, Carin Jorgensen and Sara Church-Benish worked with AMAA @ UST director Julie Risser to carefully remove insect webbing and frass from the delicate surfaces of objects that are included in the inaugural exhibition. They also designed and created exhibition displays and supports. Creating a exhibition involves considering how each of the works should best be displayed in order to convey information critical to the exhibition theme. Deconstructing Eden: Asmat Identity Rediscovered curated by graduate student Natalie McMonagle explores how objects in the collection inform people's understanding of Asmat identity. It also addressed how outside artists, in this case Roy Villevoye, contribute to international understanding and awareness of Asmat culture through photographs and videos. The exhibition will run through June 24th, 2012.
Deconstructing Eden: Asmat Identity Rediscovered includes skirts by Augustina Kokor, Antonia Oambi, and Anita from Syuru.
Half of the gallery is dedicated to temporary exhibitions. Students in the Art History Graduate program gain experience curating shows, as well as designing and installing exhibitions.
Time and Tide Exhibition Video
The AMAA @ UST collaborated with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and UST Web & Media Services to produce a video about the 2009 exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) Time and Tide: the Changing Art of the Asmat of New Guinea. This 5:24 video features interviews with Dean Marisa Kelly, College of Arts and Sciences, Molly Huber, Assistant Curator, MIA, and Roxy Ballard, Exhibition Designer MIA.
On-Going Efforts
Monitoring Environment - Climate Control in Exhibition and Storage Facilities
AMAA @ UST efforts to provide the best possible environment for the fragile wood, fiber and bone objects continue. Our abilities to care for the collection and monitor climate conditions received a significant boost in 2009 when the AMAA @ UST was awarded a Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions by the National Endowment for the Humanities NEH. Visit the AMAA @ UST News page for more information.
