Photo courtesy of Baltimore Museum of Art. The concept for the “Guarding the Art” exhibition, which ran from March 27 to July 10 at the Baltimore Museum of Art, is going national, starting with an edition in Phoenix, Arizona. “Phoenix is the perfect next step as its leadership embraces a similar philosophy to the BMA in its approach to recognizing and celebrating inclusion, diversity and equity.” “It was always part of my vision to inspire other museums around the country to bring Guarding the Art to their institutions,” Elias said in a statement. It even landed Elias, Naeem and two of the guards, Joan Smith and Kellen Johnson, an appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” The exhibition challenged traditional museum hierarchies and fostered dialogue about who can and should talk about art, while bringing positive national attention to the BMA. ![]() Sylvia Brown Chief Curator and currently one of two interim co-directors, about ways to engage with the museum’s security guards, who spend more time with the museum’s collection than anyone else. It grew out of a conversation Elias had with Asma Naeem, the museum’s Eddie C. “Guarding the Art” was conceived in 2020 by BMA Trustee Amy Elias to highlight the unique perspectives and reflections of the museum’s security staffers, informed by their hours in the galleries, their interactions with visitors and their own interests and experiences. “We look forward to bringing this opportunity to our own staff.” “Museums around the country were enthralled by what transpired at the Baltimore Museum of Art with Guarding the Art,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington director and CEO of the Phoenix Art Museum, in a statement. ![]() ![]() The Phoenix exhibit will be sponsored by PNC Bank and the Pearlstone Family Fund. Museum goers, meanwhile, got to learn more about the people who guard the art at the museum and what resonates with them.Īccording to today’s announcement, the Phoenix Art Museum will be the first place after Baltimore where the concept will be implemented, with an exhibit scheduled to open in February 2024.įollowing the model developed by the BMA for its exhibit, staffers at the Phoenix museum will work over the next year to curate their own iteration of “Guarding the Art.” The Phoenix exhibit will then be the start of a “national roll-out” of the initiative in museums across the country. In the process, the guards got an opportunity to work with museum curators and learn about what goes into mounting the exhibits they protect. For the Baltimore exhibit, which ran from March 27 to July 10, 17 security guards and gallery attendants were asked to choose works from the museum’s permanent collection that were most meaningful to them and then create an exhibit out of their choices.
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