New hours and admission prices take effect September 1

Starting on September 1, the Worcester Art Museum will have new hours.  The galleries will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm and on the third Thursday of each month from 10am to 8pm.  The Lancaster Street Welcome Center will be open Monday through Friday from 9am to 6:30pm, Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 4pm.

In addition, there will be a modest increase in the cost of admission for adults, seniors, and college students. The new admission prices are $16 for adults and $14 for seniors and college students. The admission price for ages 4-17 remains $6.  There is no admission charge for children ages 3 and under. Admission is always free for anyone who would like to purchase a Museum membership. 
Why is the Museum changing the hours it is open?  We know that both school groups and families with young children prefer to visit in the morning, while attendance overall tends to taper off by late-afternoon. By opening and closing an hour earlier, we will be able to meet the needs of all of our audiences and to be more efficient in staffing the galleries.

Why is the Museum increasing its admission fees?  The modest increase in the Museum’s admission fees will help pay for the programs, exhibitions, collections, and services that our visitors enjoy.  We will continue to offer Free First Saturday mornings and Free August, so that everyone—regardless of ability to pay admission—can have transformative art experiences at WAM. 

In addition, the Museum participates in the EBT Card to Culture program offering EBT cardholders reduced admission of $2 cash per person for up to four people.   EBT Card to Culture is a collaboration between the Mass Cultural Council and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services’ Department of Transitional Assistance.  It ensures the state’s best cultural and educational experiences are accessible to low-income residents.   

If you have any questions about these changes, please don’t hesitate to contact us at wamupdates@worcesterart.org.

-   Julieane K. Frost, Manager of Marketing, Communications and Design

America’s Peculiar Institution

The paintings on view in the Worcester Art Museum’s American portrait galleries celebrate a story of mercantile exchange, rational thought, and military prowess. As with most portraits, however, these paintings depict the sitters as they wish to be seen—their best selves—rather than simply recording appearance. The sitters are shown in poses and with objects intended to articulate their social status, such as the fine fabrics and coral beads in the portraits of John, Elizabeth, and Mary Freake.

At his death, John Freake’s estate included partial ownership of six ships, significant holdings of land, and “one Negroe named Coffee,” who was valued at £30. (Source: Inventory of the estate of John Freake, 24th day, 7th month, 1675, Suffolk County Probate, Boston, miscellaneous docket, V, 294–96.)

Yet a great deal of information is effaced in works such as these, including the sitters’ reliance on chattel slavery, often referred to as America’s “peculiar institution.” The Freakes, like many other wealthy American citizens, supported their way of life through this system of violence and oppression, which was legal in Massachusetts until 1783 and in regions of the United States until 1865. This tragic history has long been overlooked in our galleries—to address this omission, the Museum has added special labels to indicate different portrait sitters’ participation in slavery.

- Elizabeth Athens, Assistant Curator of American Art

Armor in the Galleries

Now that we’ve installed our new Medieval Galleries, featuring a selection of objects from the Higgins Armory Collection, we have started to incorporate arms and armor into other parts of the Museum as well. Come check out the helmets recently added to the [remastered] paintings gallery. The one shown below is from the early 1600s and weighs a punishing 10 ½ lbs. It’s a siege helmet, for use in fortifications rather than on the march, and it’s made to be proof against musket balls. In fact, there are two bullet marks in the rear, evidence that it saved someone’s life more than once.

Watch the galleries over the next few months as we begin to install some suits of armor to keep company with our spectacular collection of Renaissance paintings!

- Jeffrey L. Forgeng, Curator of Arms & Armor and Medieval Art

Photographs:  Kim Noonan / Worcester Art Museum
 

WAM Superlatives Wall encourages "best" thinking

This May we launched a new way to engage visitors with works in the WAM collection.  Located just inside the Higgins Education Wing on the first floor, our “Superlatives Wall” presents a different topic each month and encourages guests to vote for their favorite work of art in various categories. Guests are also encouraged to comment on WHY they voted for an artwork. Our first question was “Which event would you rather attend?” We pitted Model of a Ball Game, 1947.25; The Discovery of Honey by Bacchus, 1937.76; and These Days of Maiuma, against each other. Over 300 people voted and over 60 comments were left; the winner was Model of a Ball Game with 43% of the vote.  

Almost as soon as the images were up, our wall started filling up with votes and comments. The wall changes monthly, to make room for a new question — but don’t worry; we’re keeping track of all the feedback, hoping to learn what in our collection most intrigues and inspires our guests.

Below are some of the most thought-provoking comments so far:

 

The Discovery of Honey by Bacchus:

• Diversity appears to be welcome!
• It is a great piece of art and there are so many details! I could look at it for hours.
• I like this painting because it reminds me of freedom.
• Because it seems that everybody is having fun!
• Because I am interested in Greek Mythology.

 
Model of a Ball Game (see above):

• The crowd looks like they are having normal conversations and everyone seems happy and well fed.
• Because it's an interesting subject.
• Very intrigued by the Mayan culture and artifacts!
• Because it interests me and I play ball.
• Ancient relics reveal hidden truths.

 These Days of Maiuma

• I would want to know what its true meaning is.
• Hunting theme that relates to the mosaic.
• Because beautiful chaos is my jam!
• I like it because it shows an accurate representation of the world today!
• It shows what humanity looks like!
• Because the piece is in a style that I live and everyone lives a little chaos!

The next time you are at WAM, look for the Superlatives Wall and let us know what YOU think!

Megan Blomgren Burgess

Public Events Coordinator

AP Art History Class Exhibition

Artwork created by students from the Worcester Public Schools Advanced Placement Art History (APAH) class is currently on view in the Higgins Education Wing. The 2016-2017 student exhibition featuring work by 35 students is on view through July 23, 2017. APAH is designed to provide the same benefits to secondary school students as those provided by an introductory college course in art history. In the course, students examine major forms of artistic expression from the ancient world to the present and from a variety of cultures. They learn to look and analyze works of art within their historical context, and to articulate what they see or experience in a meaningful way. One way to experience works of art is learning to frame an understanding that relates how and why works of art communicate visual meaning.

This innovative program collaboration began in 2010 between Worcester Public Schools and the Worcester Art Museum. The course is held every Tuesday and Thursday nights and allows students from Worcester’s seven high schools to engage in the authentic study of art history. Historically, approximately 70% of students who take the required APAH exam at the end of the course receive a score of three or better, enabling them to earn advanced placement in college and/or advanced college credit.

The exhibition is free and open to the public. The Higgins Education Wing is open Sunday–Saturday, 9am to 5pm.

Click here for more information about WAM faculty and studio art classes

- Ashley Occhino, Manager of Studio Class Programs

Image: Artwork by student Diane Khong

Eyes on Adult Art!

The Higgins Education Wing will again exhibit artwork created by WAM’s adult students as a part of the Studio Art Program’s classes from May 12 – June 4. Our annual Adult Student Art Exhibition presents over 90 works of art by WAM artists in the areas of collage, collagraph, acrylic and oil painting, photography, mixed media, printmaking, and more. The exhibition features a wide range of visual practices, spanning many genres and media.

Our philosophy places value on the process of creating art and learning to think and respond creatively. We provide an environment where students can explore other cultures through our outstanding collection of artworks from antiquities to contemporary art. Students will have the opportunity to try new materials and gain self-confidence. All artists, not just those with perceived talents, benefit from working with art materials and learning about self expression.

The exhibition is free and open to the public. The Higgins Education Wing is open Sunday–Saturday, 9am–5pm. Register for a Studio Art Class with Worcester Art Museum to be eligible for our next student exhibitions! WAM’s Summer session for adult starts July 10th.

Click here for more information about WAM faculty and their classes

- Ashley Occhino,  Manager of Studio Class Programs

Image: Frank J Pozzi (Student), Eye On You

WAM & WPI Medieval Collaboration

Hi, we’re four students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and we’ve spent the last seven weeks conducting research in collaboration with WAM's Arms and Armor Curator, Jeffrey Forgeng. You may have seen us surveying in the Medieval or Asian Galleries lately—we've been researching how the touch interactives in the Medieval Galleries add to the museumgoing experience. We also developed a new trivia game in the Medieval Gallery so you can come and Test your Knightly Knowledge! And check out the link below to enjoy our video showcasing some of the fun to be had at WAM. We hope you enjoy your experience in the Medieval galleries as much as we did!

Learn more about Reinstallation of the Medieval Galleries

- Kyle Carrero, Jake Halverson, Allyson Mills, Amanda Richards