Muse/News: Must-See Smith, Seattle U Gift, and Finally Gilot

SAM News

“3 must-see shows by Indigenous artists in Seattle this spring”: Gayle Clemans for The Seattle Times recommends Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map among two other exhibitions at the Frye Art Museum and the Henry Art Gallery.

“Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation) has been a force in the art world for over five decades, creating deeply impactful work and opening doors for the increasing recognition of contemporary art by Native Americans.”

And don’t miss Elizabeth Hunter’s “mother-daughter review” of the exhibition for Seattle’s Child, featuring insights from Smith, reflections on the works on view, and tips for how to make the most of a museum visit with your family.

Spring is here, and so is a new edition of The Stranger’s Art and Performance Magazine featuring a dazzling Anida Yoeu Ali on the cover. Inside the magazine—which you can pick up around the city—catch the interview with Ali that covers “absurdity, grief, the diasporic dilemma, cosmogonies, and Dune.” (Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map is also among the mag’s recommendations.)

Local News

Via Jas Keimig for South Seattle Emerald: “New Seattle-based podcast Invisible Histories explores the history of Seattle—specifically South Seattle—that might not always be readily apparent or celebrated.”

Seattle Magazine rounds up a bevy of spring arts recommendations around the city, including Calder: In Motion.

“Seattle University gets $300 million gift of art — among largest in history”: Margo Vansynghel of The Seattle Times announces exciting news for the city’s arts scene. 

“The collection—which spans more than six centuries and contains prime examples of Western art history—will serve as a resource for students, faculty and art enthusiasts across the city, said Seattle University President Eduardo Peñalver. ‘I think it’s a win-win for Seattle University and for Seattle,’ he said.”

Inter/National News

The New York Times sends a chorus of three critics—Jason Farago, Travis Diehl, Martha Schwendener—to the Whitney Biennial.

Via Artnet: “Forget Kate Middleton’s Photoshop Blunder: Here Are Other Royals Who Had Their Portraits Edited.”

Via Rhea Nayyar for Hyperallergic: “Picasso Museum Is Showing Françoise Gilot’s Work, Finally.”

“In a press interview regarding the new display, Musée Picasso President Cécile Debray noted that Gilot was at last ‘being given her rightful place as an artist’ at the Parisian institution through this special exhibition of her work.”

And Finally

“What Your Bookshelf Organization Says About You.”

– Rachel Eggers, SAM Associate Director of Public Relations

Photo: Chloe Collyer.

Muse/News: Native Culture, T. Rex Turns, and Digital Benin

SAM News

November is Native American and Alaskan Native Heritage Month. For The Spectator, McKenna White shares resources for learning and engaging from Seattle University’s Indigenous People’s Institute (IPI); the article also references art to see around the city, including at SAM. And Seattle Met recommends SAM show Indigenous Matrix: Northwest Women Printmakers, on view now through December 11. 

Local News

Margo Vansynghel of Crosscut with a deep dive into the past, present, and future of Paul Allen’s estate and foundation.

The Seattle Times’ Grace Gorenflo on the Pacific Science Center’s 60th anniversary and their plans to survive into the future.

Grace’s colleague Jerald Pierce continues their series of “frontline favorites,” this time visiting with a Burke Museum staff member and a “T. rex rotisserie.”

“Usually, you go to a museum and you look at the objects and they’re all pretty and they’re all on exhibit and we just go, ‘ta-da!’” [visitor services specialist Connie] Eggers said. “But nobody sees what happens before that. Stuff like this goes on in every museum, but the visitors don’t get to see it.”

Inter/National News

“How the Lucas Museum Plans to Tell Riveting Stories Through Art”: The forthcoming museum’s director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont appears on Artnet’s Art Angle Podcast. 

“Paul G. Allen and the Art He Didn’t Sell”: Blake Gopnik for the New York Times on Paul Allen’s wide-ranging collection, and the possible real-life future of his more sci-fi works. 

Tessa Soloman for ARTnews on the launch of Digital Benin, a database of “looted artworks from the Kingdom of Benin.” SAM was among the first institutions to engage with the project; you can also learn more in our galleries in Benin Art: Collecting Concerns

“Digital Benin currently identifies 131 institutions across 20 countries with Benin cultural heritage in their collections. Entries include provenance details provided by participating institutions, high-resolution images, and the title of the work in the English and Edo languages. Visitors to the website can also access a collection of oral histories narrated by Benin artists and elders that expand on the significance of the artworks to local art and culture.”

And Finally

RIP and thank you, Gal Costa

 Rachel Eggers, SAM Associate Director of Public Relations

Photo: Alborz Kamalizad.

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