Tang Teaching Museum to reopen for students
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, in accordance with Skidmore College guidelines, will reopen for the fall semester for Skidmore students, faculty and staff only with limited hours and new protocols.
While the Museum building is closed to the public, the Tang continues to be open online for everyone. Since the COVID-19 closure started in March, the Tang has expanded its exhibitions online, opened new digital exhibitions, created a new page of at-home art-making activities and presented many online programs that have included Tang at Home Studio family art-making projects, student musical, dance, and poetry performances, and special events with artists Tim Davis and Liz Collins, both celebrating the publication of their new exhibition catalogues.
The Museum is preparing a slate of online initiatives for the fall, including a series of family-friendly art-making activities conducted over Zoom called Tang at Home Studio, a weekly student led Instagram series called Tang Live, enhanced online exhibitions, artist talks and more.
“The last few months have shown off the amazing dedication of the Tang staff as they create new ways to make transformative moments with artwork and artists possible in this time of social distancing,” director Ian Berry said in a press release. “I am grateful for their ingenuity and hard work and for the ongoing support and understanding of our friends, colleagues and visitors as we open our doors to the campus community only at this time. The Museum as classroom is truly in action this Fall with several classes, from Math to Arts Administration, from Religion and Classics to Management and Business all meeting in our large open Wachenheim Gallery —perfectly designed for generously spaced seating.”
The goal of slowly opening to the Skidmore community only is to protect the health and safety of faculty, staff, and students who are participating in the college’s COVID-19 health and safety program, which includes training in social distancing protocols, daily health screenings, and weekly COVID-19 testing.
The Tang’s upcoming exhibitions include “Never Done: 100 Years of Women in Politics and Beyond,” which will open online Sept. 17 and be on view through June 6, 2021. The exhibition takes the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the 2020 U.S. elections to explore issues and challenges women in the United States have faced, and continue to face, in politics and society. The online exhibition will feature images of 100 artworks by women and non-binary artists along with statements by each artist that reflects on their work in relation to women’s rights, feminisms, justice and representation, and the legacy of the suffrage movement. This exhibition webpage will also include curatorial writing, student reflections, and a feminist reading and online resources list. The opening date, Sept. 17, is Constitution Day, the anniversary of the 1787 ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
“We’ve Only Just Begun: 100 Years of Skidmore Women in Politics” will also open online Sept.17. Created in conjunction with Never Done, the exhibition explores the history of Skidmore women in politics, drawing on materials from the Scribner Library Archives and Special Collections. Organized by Skidmore Political Science Professors Kate Graney and Natalie Taylor and their Spring 2020 class PL364 “Never Done,” with Rachel Seligman, Malloy Curator.
“Energy in All Directions,” which is scheduled to open online Oct. 10 and be on view through May 17, 2021, celebrates the life and legacy of artist and gallerist Hudson (1950–2014) by bringing together work in the Tang collection by a community of contemporary artists Hudson promoted in dialogue with important objects from the Shaker Museum in Mount Lebanon, such as furniture, baskets, and textiles. Community, spirituality, creativity, and craft are common themes connecting Hudson and the Shakers.
More information about the Tang and its upcoming events is available online at tang.skidmore.edu.