“A Living Collection” now on display at The Dorsky Museum

The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz is pleased to announce the opening of the reimagined “A Living Collection” exhibition, which features the Museum’s permanent collection on display in the Corridor Gallery and the Sarah Bedrick Gallery.

Curated by Katie Hood Morgan with community members and Museum staff, the newly updated display of the Museum’s collection tells the story of The Dorsky from various perspectives, making space for traditionally marginalized voices.

“A Living Collection” proposes an alternative to the notion of a static “permanent” collection. Like a living organism, a museum’s art collection is ever-changing, its meaning shifting along with contemporary viewpoints and visitor interpretations.

“Stewarding our shared cultural heritage on behalf of our community and society is a major responsibility of being a Museum,” said the Dorsky Museum’s Neil C. Trager Director Anna Conlan. “Part of that responsibility, in my view, is actively sharing it with those we are preserving it for. Our tagline, ‘The Dorsky is Your Museum,’ truly reflects our commitment to the audiences we serve! ‘A Living Collection’ engages visitors in creating meaning and connecting with the art.”

About the Exhibition 

The Dorsky Museum’s collection of almost 7,000 artworks is wide-ranging and eclectic, with important artworks and material culture originating from a variety of places and periods—from ancient and Pre-Colonial civilizations through to the present-day Hudson Valley.

“A Living Collection” highlights audience favorites alongside new acquisitions and commissions that serve as a living entity, continuously evolving and shaped by the viewer’s interpretation.

“This exhibition has been in process for well over a year, and it’s thrilling to see it come to fruition,” said Curator Katie Hood Morgan. “Many works on view have never been displayed before and certainly not together. What kinds of relationships and conversations will emerge in the galleries remains to be seen. I hope visitors will share their thoughts and tough questions with us so they can inform the evolution of the project—and The Museum itself—in the years to come.”

Drawing connections between artworks and considering how their meanings continuously evolve with the viewer’s response, a series of thematic pathways are presented which link works across time period, medium, and style. Along these pathways we invite you to find your own way and make connections from our contemporary moment into the past, from your life to the artists’ creations, enjoying the universal and timeless potential of art.

Identity and the Body: What can the figures and faces shown here tell us about the artists’ experience and our shared human histories?

Ecology and Natural Forms: How have artists used nature in their work to express humanity’s evolving relationship to the natural world?

Social Justice: How can visual art be a tool of activism and social change?

Art in the Everyday: What kinds of unexpected meanings and stories can we uncover in everyday objects and materials?

Explore “A Living Collection” through the Bloomberg Connects App

The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art has recently partnered with Bloomberg Connects, a free app that offers access to exhibitions, collections and renowned artists at more than 200 museums and other cultural organizations.

The app will add interactive experiences to The Dorsky’s exhibitions, allowing visitors to access a map of the museum, find expert insights, context and more curated content. It also has audio descriptions of some works and is specifically designed to work with the relaunch of our permanent collection, “A Living Collection.”

The app connects users to arts and culture at any time, from anywhere, and features exclusive app-only stories and insights from artists, curators and experts.

Explore The Dorsky on Bloomberg Connects, today!

About The Dorsky Museum 

Through its collections, exhibitions and public programs, the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art supports and enriches the academic programs at the College and serves as a center for Hudson Valley arts and culture. With more than 9,000 square feet of exhibition space distributed over six galleries, The Dorsky Museum is one of the largest museums in the SUNY system. Since its official dedication in 2001, The Dorsky has presented more than 100 exhibitions, including commissions, collection-based projects, and in-depth studies of contemporary artists including Robert Morris, Alice Neel, Judy Pfaff, Carolee Schneemann and Ushio Shinohara.

Funding for The Dorsky’s exhibitions and programs is provided by the Friends of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art and SUNY New Paltz.

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