The man was in a hurry. He had his cell phone pressed to his ear and appeared to be having a very serious conversation. As he listened intently to the other person on the line, he opened the door to exit the office building.
The man came to an abrupt stop and blinked in amazement. Then a huge smile spread across his face.
Every year SAM singles out one curator for outstanding work in the previous year. The recipient is named the Patterson Sims Fellow, in honor of our former chief curator. The award comes with a $5,000 grant to spend as the recipient desires. It is a decision that is never easy, because of the consistently high level of excellence and dedication embodied by our curators.Please join us in congratulating the 2011 Patterson Sims Fellow, Marisa Sánchez.
In April, during National Volunteer Week, SAM held our annual Volunteer Soiree, a very special event that celebrates all our volunteers across the museum (600-plus this year) and outstanding volunteers from various departments, committees and councils. In addition we present the Dorothy C. Malone Award to one exceptional volunteer who reflects the highest standards of dedication and service to the museum.
This year SAM honored long-time volunteer Marilyn Batali with the 2011 Dorothy C. Malone Award.
Before he was the most powerful ruler in the world, Prince Khurram was a young man molding his image and his priorities. Son of the Emperor Jahangir, he was both protégé and upstart, a source of pride and later serious rivalry for his father. For years it was believed that this portrait depicted Jahangir himself, but recent research identifies him as Jahangir’s son and successor, an early image of the supreme Mughal leader, the man who would become Shah Jahan.
This Mughal portrait is on view through Sunday, May 30.
Adrian Paci was forced to flee his homeland of Albania in 1997 because of the political and social unrest, emigrating to Italy with his wife and children to secure their safety and personal freedoms. This unsettled history informs his larger body of work to date, including paintings, films, installations, and sculptures such as Home to Go. Here, the figure is a cast of the artist’s own body, hunched over by the weight of a tiled roof segment he carries on his back. The viewer is drawn in to the emotional, physical, and psychological burden of his exodus from his country, and the memory of it that Paci has never left behind.
Members Art History Lecture Series: Curator’s Choice
Marisa C. Sánchez: Adrian Paci’s “Home to Go”
May 18, 2011
7–8:30 pm
Plestcheeff Auditorium
On June 17 from 8 pm to midnight, join us for Party in the Park: a benefit for the Seattle Art Museum!
Celebrate the kick-off of summer with friends knowing you are supporting artistic and outreach programs at the Olympic Sculpture Park and SAM.
Click here now to buy tickets! Cost is $75 and includes food, drink, and exclusive, after-hours access to the Olympic Sculpture Park. Since this is a benefit event, both SAM members and non-members are welcome at the same ticket price. Age 21+ only.
Beautiful Beats
Bountiful Eats
Artistic Feats
Thanks for supporting SAM and the Olympic Sculpture Park!
Photo credit: Robert Wade
On Wednesday, May 18, we will participate in International Museum Day, an incredible world-wide day of free admission to museums sponsored by the International Council of Museums. This day is an occasion to raise awareness on how important museums are in the development of society. From America to Oceania; including Africa, Europe and Asia; this international event has grown in popularity. In recent years, International Museum Day has experienced its highest involvement with almost 30,000 museums participating in more than 100 countries.
Admission will be free all day Wednesday at the Seattle Art Museum and the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Both museums will be open from 10 am – 5pm. This is a great opportunity to see Nick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth or Modern Elegance: The Art of Meiji Japan.
Click here for more visitor information, including directions and parking details.
Check out an epic ART ATTACK: Teen Night Out! Enjoy live music and tours led by our Teen Advisory Group and local artists in the galleries. This event is FREE for all high school-aged students. Please bring state or high school ID.
LIVE PEFORMANCES
6–9 pm
DJ Hollywood from KUBE heats up the turntables all night long.
Brotman Forum
6:30 pm & 7 pm
Garfield Drumline kicks off Teen Night Out at Hammering Man (6:30 pm) and South Hall (7 pm).
Hammering Man (1st Ave. and University St) and South Hall
7:45 pm & 9 pm
Vicious Puppies performs two breakdancing sets in South Hall (7:45 pm) and the Forum (9 pm)!
South Hall and Brotman Forum
8 pm & 9 pm
Spectrum Dance Academy gives Soundsuit performances in South Hall (8 pm) and the Forum (9 pm)!
South Hall and Brotman Forum
As Jessica Penn in Black with White Plumes, The Buffalo Hunt and other paintings from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art return to their home in Arkansas, SAM’s American Art Gallery turns to look at American artists actively expanding their practice beyond paintings in oil.
I had the pleasure of attending the opening for the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs Seattle as Collector exhibition here at SAM last night. The exhibition is part of the celebration of the Office’s 40th Anniversary, and the show includes over 110 pieces from the city’s 2,800 piece collection. The city’s collection, garnered through the 1% for art program, is really pretty extraordinary. I had been looking forward to seeing the installation, but when I actually walked through it, I was really struck by the artists included. We’re talking Chuck Close, Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight, Alden Mason…big names. And there were a bunch of artists that I recognized because of exhibitions and projects I’ve worked on at SAM over the last few years. Read More
I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign as Director of the Seattle Art Museum effective June 30th. This was a difficult decision for me but with SAM today in a much stronger position than when I arrived, I believe the time is right for a change in leadership.
When the fiscal year ends on June 30th, we will post what might well be the most successful year in SAM’s 78-year history:
I am proud that SAM has achieved so much and I am confident that the institution will continue to build on this success.
I am eager for a break and for the chance to undertake my own projects. First, I aim to spend more time with my family and refresh my professional perspective. My passion for art history has been on hold while I focused on the most urgent administrative and financial challenges here. Now, I want to re-establish my personal connection with the artists, objects, and ideas that got me into museum work in the first place. My family and I have fallen in love with Seattle and we expect to remain here, so I hope to see you often.
Please know that I am grateful for having had this opportunity to serve the Seattle Art Museum and this community.
Sincerely,
Derrick R. Cartwright
Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director
The Seattle Art Museum is a new partner of Museums On Us, Bank of America’s nationwide program that provides greater access to museums, zoos, science centers and other cultural institutions. SAM is one of 153 participants who offer free admission to Bank of America cardholders on the first full weekend of every month. Get free admission to SAM Downtown May 7 and May 8 just by presenting your Bank of America debit or credit card.
Speaking of banks, Wells Fargo is presenting Free First Saturday at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Bring your family and try your hand at making drawings with bamboo and ink 11 am-2 pm. There will also be a free showing of the Japanese animated film “Pom Poko” at 1:30 pm.
On Sunday, bring your mom, grandma, nana, bubbe, abuela, stepmom, mother-in-law, baby’s mama, etc. to SAM and the Seattle Asian Art Museum on Sunday. Moms get in free!
For more details, visit our calendar or Events on our Facebook page.
March to the Center of the Earth: Community Night Out is going to be a fantastic evening of live music, dance, education and art making. Plus there will be a special Soundsuit performance by Spectrum Dance Theatre. All of these activities are free and open to all ages!
Leo, the Molly Moon’s ice cream truck, will be bringing scoops and smiles to March to the Center of the Earth: Community Night Out on May 5 at SAM Downtown.
Feeling more like a savory snack? Dante’s Inferno Dogs will also be at the event.
And of course TASTE will be providing tasty treats as well.
Photo credit: Madeline Moy
The businesses on First Avenue that we’re happy to call our neighbors are getting in the spirit for March to the Center of the Earth: Community Night Out on May 5. Be sure to visit them and thank them for their support!
We’re proud to have a diverse group of organizations participating in March to the Center of the Earth: Community Night Out on May 5. Is your organization going to part of the fun? Post your name in the comments section, and we’ll add you to the official list.
More than 200 artworks from middle and high school students from Seattle Public Schools will be on display May 5-June 5, 2011 at the Seattle Art Museum as part of the annual Naramore Middle and High Art Show. Read More
I can’t wait to see the wearable art that people are creating for March to the Center of the Earth: Community Night Out on May 5. The evening will kick off with a fantastic parade that starts at the Hammering Man at 5:30 p.m.
If you want a quick and easy way to make something special for Community Night Out, click here now to download instructions and pattern for a DIY flag.
Or come to SAM’s Chase Open Studio at 4:30 p.m. (an hour before the parade begins) to whip up some wearable art of your own. It’s free!
Want to get updates on SAM program and events delivered to your inbox? Click here now to subscribe to SAM’s enewsletter. Here’s a message from SAM Director Derrick Cartwright from our May 2011 enewsletter highlighting some of the best SAM’s three sites have to offer.
Of course you’re coming to March to the Center of the Earth: Community Night Out on May 5.
The question is: Are you prepared to look FABULOUS?
This evening stop by the Chase Open Studio 5:45-8:45 pm to create your wearable art for Community Night Out. We have TONS of things that would give your look some F-L-A-R-E including fabric, sequins, feathers and more.
If you can’t make it tonight, the Open Studio will be available at 4:30 pm on May 5 an hour before the March to the Center of the Earth parade begins.
For inspiration, check out these photos from a recent SAM Creates workshop with artist Mandy Greer.
The recent exhibition, Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris, generated an estimated $66 million in economic impact for Washington State, of which $58 million was generated in King County, according to an economic impact study commissioned by SAM.
The study, prepared by University of Washington professor William B. Beyers, clearly demonstrates that a major arts event can stimulate the economy in multiple ways. The critically acclaimed exhibition was on view October 8, 2010 -January 17, 2011, and ranks as the most highly attended show in the history of SAM Downtown, attracting 405,000 visitors including nearly 20,000 school children and boosting the museum’s membership to an all time high of more than 48,000 households.
Get more details:
Jay Holcomb from local mobile marketing agency Knovolo discusses how SAM incorporated mobile into the Picasso exhibition experience with Microsoft Tag and a mobile website. Read his entire review at http://sh0w.me/mobile-at-SAM
Did you use your mobile phone to access information about the Picasso exhibition? If so, what did you think? Do you want SAM to create more ways to interact with the museum using your phone?
The SAM special exhibition Nick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth has arrived in Seattle in a very big way. Have you been dazzled by how Cave transforms ordinary objects into extraordinary art (or want to be)? Well, come to SAM Downtown on May 5 from 5:30 – 9 pm for a terrific celebration: March to the Center of the Earth: Community Night Out.
Bring your students, friends, parents, kids, neighbors, fellow artists and crafters—there will be something there for everyone! Plus, you could win these fabulous prizes:
How to enter:
All photo entries are due May 9 by 5 pm.
Family Festival: Earth Day for Kids was an amazing day of activities in celebration of Earth Day at the Olympic Sculpture Park! Everyone enjoyed making green art and fantastic live performances celebrating sustainability. Plus, dancers from Cornish College of the Arts brought Nick Cave’s Soundsuits to life! Thanks again to Target for making this event–and other family-friendly events that are focused on art–possible! Here are two fun videos from the event.
Create it, and parade it! Get your masquerade on during SAM’s special evening celebration, March to the Center of the Earth: Community Night Out. Bring a crafty costume or come early to SAM and create your own wearable art in the Chase Open Studio.
Community Night Out kicks off with a 5:30 pm procession that starts at Hammering Man at SAM Downtown, winds down 1st Avenue and returns to the museum for a night of free live performances, drop-in art making, tours and an onsite Soundsuit performance. That night is First Thursday so admission to SAM and the Nick Cave exhibition is FREE.
We are very excited to congratulate Patti Junker, the Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art at SAM, on receiving the prestigious Frost Essay Award from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Click here to read her essay.
Here is the Smithsonian’s offical announcement about the award:
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has awarded the 2010 Patricia and Phillip Frost Essay Award to Patricia Junker, the Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art at the Seattle Art Museum. Her article, “Childe Hassam, Marsden Hartley, and the Spirit of 1916,” appeared in the fall 2010 issue (vol. 24, no. 3). The article presents a close contextual study and comparative analysis of Hassam’s production of impressionist paintings of American flags with an exhibition of Hartley’s abstractions of German military motifs at Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery 291 in the spring of 1916 when American sentiment about World War I had reached a fever pitch.
My name is Madeline Moy, and I just started working at SAM. I’m the digital media manager for the museum, which means I’ll be overseeing strategy and content for our website and social media.
I grew up on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Seattle was just an hour away by ferry, but it truly was another world to me. I first visited SAM many years ago when I was in high school–not because I was interested in art, but because I was interested in a boy who was interested in art.
Each week for the past two years we have shared one work out of the nearly 25,000 in our collection on Facebook, in a feature called “SAMart.” Starting this week, SAMart comes to SOAP! Check back each week or subscribe to our RSS to learn more about new acquisitions and old favorites in the SAM collection.
Opening on April 30, Modern Elegance: The Art of Meiji Japan features paintings and decorative objects exemplifying the essence of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Japanese art.
Read More
On Saturday, April 16 from 10am-3pm, join us for Family Festival: Earth Day for Kids, an amazing day of family-friendly activities in celebration of Earth Day at the Olympic Sculpture Park! This event is presented by Target.
This month, I traveled to Japan on a study tour for American curators of Japanese and contemporary art. Sponsored by the Japan Foundation, the two-week adventure took us on a whirlwind tour of museums in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Osaka, and Naoshima. The objective of the trip was to introduce a wide range of U.S. art professionals to Japanese museum practices and to foster a cross-cultural dialogue between specialists. The trip accomplished this goal, without a doubt, but it will be the events of March 11 and beyond that will prove most memorable.
