UR's Harnett Museum supports classroom curriculum with a new gallery exhibit
University News
When Issa Lampe, the executive director of the University’s museums, decided what to add to the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art collection, she contacted two or three faculty members to see if the artwork she was considering would inspire them to bring a class into the gallery. The outcome of those conversations was a new exhibit, “Look Again: Art For Our Curriculum.”
“Everything acquired here in the last two years was done in consultation with faculty and other community members,” Lampe said. “‘Look Again’ showcases a fresh approach to collecting for the University of Richmond.” She curated the exhibit with the assistance of curatorial fellow, senior Alexandra Gramuglia.
The exhibit features drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, ceramics, and coins from a diverse array of artists.
The collaborative approach had not been used prior to Lampe’s arrival in 2023. And while the Harnett collection contains over 10,000 items, not all are useful for teaching courses at UR. “It is important to consult with the faculty about art acquisitions because the core mission of a university art museum is to serve as a resource for teaching, student engagement, and enjoyment by all,” she said.
“We are working to diversify the art collection so that our entire community of students, staff, faculty, and community members may come to the museum’s galleries and see themselves reflected there,” Lampe said. “Representation matters in a museum. We prioritize inclusion and belonging to celebrate and incorporate diverse voices, media, and practices.”
Some labels next to works of art include QR codes linked to interpretative writing about the piece by students and faculty. A special outreach attracted 70 faculty members from 27 departments and their classes to the museum last fall — about double the usual number.
“This was a delightful surprise and a real testament to faculty feeling encouraged and included in the art collection’s content, as well as feeling welcomed to use the museums as an extension of their classroom,” said Martha Wright, curator for academic initiatives.
While Lampe consults with faculty about acquisitions, Wright assists them in selecting the perfect fit from the collection for their curriculum.
Creative writing professor David Stevens eagerly seized the opportunity to take his students to “Look Again.”
“Ekphrasis, more commonly writing about art, has a long history in Western literature, so the Introduction to Creative Writing classroom feels like a natural place to familiarize students with that tradition,” he said.
Before the visit, the class discussed literary models, such as Frank O'Hara's On Seeing Larry Rivers' Washington Crossing the Delaware at the Museum of Modern Art. Once in the gallery, students were asked to select one work from the collection and then write a poem, micro-story, or brief essay about it.
“The class produced a range of lovely responses to paintings, photographs, triptychs, and mixed media pieces,” he said.
History and Africana studies professor Jillean McCommons recently brought one of her classes to the exhibit, which included a gallery talk by Brian Palmer, visiting professor of journalism. The students had already studied some of the award-winning photojournalist’s work in her class. One of his pieces, Untitled (East End Cemetery), features a historic Black cemetery overgrown and surrounded by woods in the Richmond area.
“I felt like the trees represented and symbolized the wealth of African heritage. I didn’t see the neglect at first,” said first-year student Lee Monticello Bruner IV. He learned more about the disrepair of the cemetery during the gallery talk, when he also got to see the photograph in person.
“The tremendous skill found in the photography of the exhibition really wows the students. Others are touched by the figures in the artwork – the people’s stories, and what that means to a larger society and history,” Wright said. “I find them eager to dig into the artwork, closely looking and reflecting for a lot longer than you might expect. It’s really rewarding to witness.”
In April, teaching faculty Shannon Jones’ Biology 120 class, Toxic Communities: Investigating Environmental Justice in the U.S., will focus on art that explores the interactions between people and their natural surroundings, and include work from artists Aida Muluneh, Brian Palmer, Dawoud Bey, Ken Heyman, Bill Owens, and Joellyn Duesbury.
The exhibit runs through May 17.