ROAMING IS BACK
Museums reopen following pandemic
If you’ve ever wanted to see a jade bee or faceted pieces of quartz fashioned into replicas of the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty or the Spirit of ’76, now’s the time to do it.
Eager to welcome patrons back inside their building, The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in Oak Brook is among many museums hosting new exhibits and attractions in what they hope is a post-pandemic era.
The Lizzadro’s newest exhibit called “Fan Favorites” features the bee, the faceted quartz pieces and other intriguing items from their permanent collection.
“It’s very blingy,” says Dorothy Asher, executive director, about the quartz pieces.
Because of the pandemic, the Lizzadro museum, along with other museums and cultural institutions, were abruptly shuttered during long stretches over the past year. It, along with many others, have since reopened or are planning to reopen soon.
These institutions are finding exciting ways to lure patrons back to their buildings or campuses.
The Lizzadro was severely challenged during the pandemic when patrons were barred from entering the building for fear of spreading the illness.
“This biggest loss has been in groups — all the school groups and the senior groups — that’s been tough for us,” Asher says.
Opportunities
The Lizzadro, which had relocated from Elmhurst to Oak Brook just before the start of the pandemic, turned to virtual programming during the pandemic to continue its mission of educating the public about the lapidary arts and the natural world.
“We were able to reach a broader audience through virtual programming,” Asher says.
While connecting with an audience that might live out of state or even out of the country was a plus, Asher says it’s not a replacement for seeing people roaming through their displays or attending an in-person program about fossils, the history of jade, or alchemy.
In addition to the Fan Favorites exhibit, which will be on display through August, the museum is planning another exhibit focused on German cameos that will be on view in October.
As part of the cameo exhibit, Asher says the museum will partner with other cultural institutions such as the Elmhurst Symphony and the First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook to provide complementary programming.
The Mitchell
Meanwhile, in Evanston, the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, also relied on virtual programming to stay in touch with loyal patrons and connect with new ones during the pandemic.
“It was a challenging time for museums but, also, surprisingly, there were opportunities too,” says Mary Smith, interim executive director.
The pandemic prompted the museum to partner with other museums on virtual programs. It worked with the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville, Arkansas, on a showing of the documentary “Mankiller” about Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to be elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Also, during the lockdown, the museum started offering items from its museum shop for sale online.
“The pandemic accelerated our digital transformation and we made the store digital before the (Christmas) holidays,” Smith says. “We’ve found a more receptive audience for the things we sell than we thought we would have.”
Taking virtual another step further, the museum is in the process of digitizing its tours of five indigenous regions in North America and Canada that the museum highlights.
While Smith is excited about their virtual programs, she’s also looking forward to July when the museum will reopen and when it will unveil a new bronze statue titled “Child of the Clouds” that is being added to its collection.
Joseph Gackstetter, manager of collections, says the statue is in keeping with the museum’s mission.
“Our mission at the Mitchell Museum is to promote and share a deeper understanding of American Indian and First Nation peoples across the U.S. and Canada and one of the ways we do that is in working with and exhibiting works from contemporary Native American artists,” he says.
The statue was created by Cliff Fragua, a renowned sculptor from the Pueblo of Jemez, which is a federally recognized tribe located 50 miles northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Driehaus
Housed in a restored mansion just steps from the Magnificent Mile, The Richard H. Driehaus Museum explores the art, architecture and design of the late 19th century to the present.
The museum reopened in March for Saturdays and Sundays only.
In light of COVID, Liz Tillmanns, director of communications, says the museum is adapting.
“Like everyone, we’ve been rolling with it and taking everything as it comes,” she says. “We’ve seen really nice visitorship in the last few weekends and we’re hoping it keeps trending in that direction so we can be more open (to the public).”
Through Aug. 29, the museum is hosting an exhibit entitled “PAN: Prints of Avant-Garde Europe, 1895-1900.”
It is based on PAN, an arts magazine published in Berlin that featured prints created between 1895 and 1900 by some of the most important painters and grapic artists of the time including Auguste Rodin, Georges Seurat, Henri de ToulouseLautrec, and Max Liebermann.
Tillmanns says the museum is thrilled to welcome visitors to see the exhibit as well as to enjoy the museum itself. It is housed in the Nickerson Mansion that was restored between 2003 and 2009 by philanthropist Richard H. Driehaus.
“People say it’s like stepping back in time and it’s true,” says Tillmanns. “It’s a snapshot of the way the wealthy lived and of the 19th century. And it is beautifully preserved here.”
Locations
The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art is located at 1200 Kensington Road in Oak Brook. For more information, visit lizzadromuseum.org.
The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian is located at 3001 Central St. in Evanston. For more information, visit mitchellmuseum.org
Driehaus Museum is located at 40 E. Erie St., Chicago. For more information, visit driehausmuseum.org.