‘Art has always been a need, not a luxury’

The benefit of looking back is the discovery of our future potential. For 2020, our efforts to navigate the unknown, recalibrate for perpetual changes, and stabilize the weight of cataclysmic conditions revealed the resplendent allure of hope and the extraordinary landscape of resilience.

Art has always been a need, not a luxury, and during this COVID-19 crisis, it has played a central role in helping humanity to endure the darkness and to find small celebrations among the uncertainty.

The museum first closed on March 13, and we’ve been meeting the moment and anticipating next steps every day since. The team mobilized and implemented a plan with precision. More than 50 full-time staff members were set up for remote access within just a few days, and equipment was allocated for a seamless transition to at-home work and a digital museum experience.

The results were and continue to be magnificent.

Art Alive, our biggest fundraiser of the year, shifted entirely online, with creative floral interpretations, an Instagram dance party, and interactive activities shared. Public programs became video productions of music and dance performances in collaboration with other local arts institutions. The education team didn’t miss a beat, launching the entire summer camps program online, welcoming campers from across the country. This success warranted our first-ever Virtual Winter Youth Workshop, which premieres Dec. 30. Our curators introduced Masterpiece Minute, a weekly podcast series featuring fascinating stories behind selected works in the SDMA collection. And the museum’s popular docent tours are now available virtually. Most recently, we inaugurated SDMA 360: A Virtual Gallery Experience, where visitors can explore their favorite galleries, zoom in to see art details, and read full label text in both English and Spanish. And we moved our SDMA App’s augmented reality (AR) outdoors by installing reproductions of our works of art that feature AR outside the museum near the Plaza de Panama.

Meanwhile, we continued to develop new exhibitions and to establish stringent health protocols so we would be ready to welcome visitors safely upon reopening. We debuted Mary Ellen Mark’s “Twins” series of largescale Polaroids in the free gallery next to Panama 66 and welcomed an exceptional self-portrait by Rembrandt, on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. We also were able to share the major exhibition “Masters of Photography: The Garner Collection” during a members’ preview before closing the doors a second time due to rising COVID infections in the area. When conditions allow us to reopen, we will once again be ready.

This past year, the nation experienced a delayed yet righteous reckoning with racial injustices and inequities across the country. The museum recognizes the overdue moment to confront areas of needed improvement and embraces that role, as we continue to illuminate the multicultural narratives within our galleries and to engage in conversations with contemporaries who are inspired by those works. As an arts and cultural institution, we have a responsibility to amplify these voices internally and within the community.

We persevere in adapting, innovating and leaning in to opportunities to improve and grow. Tragedies like the pandemic cause people to either retract or push forward. The SDMA team went full throttle. And I am extremely thankful to the community for supporting these efforts.

Art museums have been transforming in the last decade, from temples of quiet contemplation to theaters of lively engagement. They are constantly and actively designing experiences that awaken and fight against indifference. We are becoming more innovative as we aim to create a dynamic cultural energy through dialogue and multiple narratives. We work toward establishing the museum as a center for people to gather, learn and share, where social engagement becomes a cultural transformation. We are resilient and will emerge stronger as we head into 2021 and beyond.

COURTESY PHOTO