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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
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Exhibition – Making it Better: Folk Arts in Pennsylvania Today. On exhibit Nov. 20, 2011 – Apr. 29, 2012, Making It Better tells the stories of over 30 master artists whose works represent a wide array of traditions such as African dance, stone wall construction, Native American clay flutes, Pysanky eggs, contemporary blacksmith work, woodcarving, and Vietnamese funerary portraits. The exhibit is on loan from the Erie Art Museum.
The public is invited to attend a special preview of the exhibition as part of Harrisburg’s “3rd in the Burg” celebration on Friday, November 18, 6 – 8 pm with artist Ken Ely as he builds a stone wall to be featured in the show. Old-time gospel and country music will be provided by Karla Armstrong and Friends, playing tunes on a traditional autoharp made by George Orthey, a master autoharp maker featured in the exhibition.
Also, on Sunday, November 20, the show’s opening day, exhibition curator Amy Skillman and featured Jewish paper cut artist Susan Leviton will give a tour of Making It Better at 2 pm. The program is free with museum admission and free to State Museum Affiliate Members.
The exhibition is on loan from the Erie Art Museum and was developed in partnership with several folk arts organizations around the state and with funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. |
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Voices of the Revolution
Memorial Hall
Artists are record keepers and interpreters of the times in which they live. More than half a century ago, the nation watched the events surrounding the Civil Rights Movement in the South with horror and hope. Voices of the Revolution is one artist’s effort to commemorate not only the suffering, fear and violence, but also the hope, brotherhood and courage of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1967, Edith Jaffy Kaplan (1919-1995), using her considerable artistic talents, created powerful images of sharp color and jagged lines, indicative of violence, and pure color and tranquil lines referencing the innocent victims and hope of the Civil Rights Movement.
These limited edition woodcuts are accompanied by poetry written by and about young people, along with important historical quotes and notes. Bayard Rustin, a key organizer of the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. wrote the preface. |
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THE FINE ART OF GIVING:
GIFTS OF ART TO THE STATE MUSEUM OF PENNSYLVANIA 1998-2008
A selection of 85 paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, and crafts, selected from the more than 400 gifts of art received between 1998 and 2008, will be exhibited at The State Museum through June 2010. Donations of are reviewed and approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Collections Committee and the Executive Director before acceptance into the permanent collection. Considerations include, but are not limited to: aesthetic and historic importance, relationship to Pennsylvania history, storage availability, physical condition, conservation cost, and/or anticipated future exhibition or educational use.
A tradition of giving by ordinary citizens, begun more than 150 years ago, has formed a collection of important Pennsylvania art. By 1850, donated paintings, prints and sculptures were being displayed in the then new State Capitol in Harrisburg. In 1905, when The State Museum was created, those early gifts of art became the core of the Museum’s art collection. Although The State Museum does not receive a state allocation for the purchase of fine art, today the collection includes 7000 works, dating from 1650 to the present.
The mission of the Art Collection at The State Museum of Pennsylvania is: to collect, interpret and preserve art, created by Pennsylvania artists, or artists who greatly influence the arts in Pennsylvania, or of which the subject has a direct connection to the State’s history and culture.
Through this exhibition, The State Museum gratefully recognizes the donors of the past decade, whose gifts will benefit generations to come.
A listing of the 400 gifts will be available on the web site, www.statemuseumpa.org, as well as images of art donated during the past decade, but not currently exhibited.
Located in the 1st Floor Gallery space
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Marian Anderson (1897-1993)
Classical Music and Opera Singer
Photo: Pennsylvania State Archives |
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Trailblazers: Notable African Americans in Pennsylvania History
Outside of the Auditorium. A trail blazer is a pioneer, a person who opens up a new trail or new territory. This photo exhibit features African Americans closely associated with Pennsylvania who went into jobs, activities and businesses where no African American had gone before. It focuses on the stories of real-life people from Pennsylvania and tells viewers about the many accomplishments and contributions of these outstanding citizens.
After the exhibit opens at The State Museum, a 20-panel version of the exhibit will be available for loan to historical societies, museums, libraries and schools across the Commonwealth. To learn more about booking this exhibition, contact the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations at (717) 909-6905 or email dfilipi@pamuseums.org.
View Press Release |
Administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. ®2005 SMPA Terms of Use/Copyright
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