Tufts University Art Galleryhttp://artgallery.tufts.edu/
Tufts University, located in Medford, MA maintains a relatively small art gallery with a relatively small collection. It has a few big name items in its collection including works by Warhol, Frankenthaler, and J. Singer Sargent. It's hard to say though, when any of the most famous works in their collection have been on display, or whether any exhibition of their works are planned. A large portion of their collection is spread throughout the campus, and a useful interactive map displays the locations on campus where one can find other works from the collection. The map only has pictures of a handful of those items though, and there's no way to reverse search for the location of a work by searching its name.
Its location is not so great...It's relegated to the corner of a much larger arts center and there is a single sign on campus pointing in its direction. It does have a dedicated parking lot...sort of. There are four parking spaces reserved for the gallery in a larger parking lot, but on my last two visits, Tufts vehicles or construction equipment took up two.
Almost all attendants are students, and as a result they have relatively little knowledge of the works on exhibition. Seemingly to compensate, they provide a large amount of supplemental materials such as cell phone tours, gallery guides, and slightly longer than necessary exhibition text.
It is certainly worth a visit, though - the gallery's website does not do it justice (in fact I'd go so far as to say its website is just bad). With its range of exhibitions and frequency (about two exhibitions each semester), it's certainly worth a stop if you're in the area, but don't go too far out of your way.
Have you ever visited? Do you have any good experiences? Do you agree/disagree?
I agree with you that a visit to the website does not entice one to actually visit the gallery which is a shame. There is very little information about the contents of the gallery and it is not particularly easy to navigate. I still haven't visited despite being a student because I am too excited about other museums in the area. In a city like Boston with the incredible museum and gallery offerings available, Tufts needs to use their website better. I also agree that Tufts has a major parking problem and this certainly affects visitors to the gallery since it is not easily accessible by the T.
ReplyDeleteI also agree. I’ve been to this gallery twice now in my time at Tufts, once with my Collections Care and Preservation class, and once to celebrate the opening of the 2011 Tufts Museum Studies exhibition. I honestly can’t tell you what was on exhibit during my first time there; we studied the space for its climate controlled technology and integrated pest management system. That being said – I spent three hours there with only a handful of other students and was obviously not impressed by the exhibition. During my second trip however, I had a much different experience. The opening reception was wonderful and just so lively! It was great to see most of the Museum Studies community come out for the event. That being said, I have no idea where everyone parked for the event, or how some of the visitors who were new to the gallery even found it.
ReplyDeleteI hope they choose to exhibit more of their big name works soon, as well as advertise their location better. They have the potential to become a big name institution; they just need a slightly different direction I think.