The 50th: An Anniversary Exhibition

<!doctype html>      <html class="no-js" lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>The 50th: An Anniversary Exhibition | Smart Museum of Art</title> <meta name="description" content="This exhibition marks the Smart Museum of Art's 50th anniversary and explores what makes and defines a university art museum. "> <meta name="keywords" content="{keywords}"> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Smart Museum of Art | The University of Chicago</title> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=5"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://cdn.fonts.net"> <link href="https://cdn.fonts.net/kit/4a74b7d6-cd9a-4ec5-b629-35c1dbbfe199/4a74b7d6-cd9a-4ec5-b629-35c1dbbfe199.css" rel="stylesheet" /> <link href="/css/site.css?updated=20240626175518" rel="stylesheet" media="screen"> </head> <body id="exhibitions"> <header> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="logo-wrapper"> <div class="right-logo"> <a href="/"></a> </div> <div class="site-wordmark"> <a href="/"><h1 class="smart-wordmark">Smart Museum of Art</h1></a> <a href="http://www.uchicago.edu"><h2 class="uc-wordmark">The University of Chicago</h2></a> </div> <div class="smart-logo center-logo"> <a href="/"></a> </div> </div> <div class="visitor-wrapper"> <div class="visitor-information"> <p class="free-open">Free and open to the public</p> </div> </div> <div class="nav-toggle"> <button type="button" class="nav-toggle mast" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#nav-drawer"> <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> </button> </div> </div> </header> <a class="sr-only" href="#content">Skip navigation</a> <div class="search-wrapper collapse" id="search-drawer"> <div class="search-drawer"> <form class="search drawer" role="search" method="get" action="/search/"> <div class="form-group"> <label for="searchtext" class="hidden">Search:</label> <input name="q" id="searchtext" type="text" class="form-control" placeholder="Search"> </div> <button type="submit" class="search-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> <div class="cal-wrapper collapse" id="cal-drawer"> <div class="cal-drawer"> <ul> <li class="upcoming-event-drawer"> <h5 class="event-date"><span class="date">Thu. December 5</span><span class="dot"> • </span><span class="time">4 PM - 8 PM</span> </h5> <h3><a href="https://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/events/2232/study-at-the-smart-fall-quarter-2024/">Study at the Smart, Fall Quarter 2024</a></h3> </li> <li class="upcoming-event-drawer"> <h5 class="event-date"><span class="date">Sat. December 14</span><span class="dot"> • </span><span class="time">1 PM - 4 PM</span> </h5> <h3><a href="https://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/events/2233/family-day-cut-cut-paste/">Family Day: Cut, Cut, Paste</a></h3> </li> <h3 class="full-cal-link"><a href="/public-practice/calendar-of-events/">View Full Calendar</a></h3> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="main-navbar navbar navbar-default" role="navigation"> <ul id="nav-sub" class="main-nav"> <li class="first"><a href="/visit/">Visit</a></li> <li><a href="/exhibitions/">Exhibitions</a></li> <li><a href="/public-practice/">Public Practice</a></li> <li><a href="/feitler-center-for-academic-inquiry/">Feitler Center</a></li> <li><a href="/collections/">Collections</a></li> <li><a href="/support/">Support</a></li> <li class="last"><a href="/about/">About</a></li> </ul> <ul class="util-nav"> <li class="util-toggle"> <button type="button" class="nav-toggle" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#nav-drawer"> <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> </button> </li> <li class="util-cal" data-toggle="collapse" href="#cal-drawer" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="collapseExample">Calendar</li> <li class="util-search" data-toggle="collapse" href="#search-drawer" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="collapseExample">Search</li> </ul> </nav> <div id="nav-drawer" class="nav-drawer collapse"> <ul id="nav-sub" class="nav-small"> <li class="first"><a href="/visit/">Visit</a></li> <li><a href="/exhibitions/">Exhibitions</a></li> <li><a href="/public-practice/">Public Practice</a></li> <li><a href="/feitler-center-for-academic-inquiry/">Feitler Center</a></li> <li><a href="/collections/">Collections</a></li> <li><a href="/support/">Support</a></li> <li class="last"><a href="/about/">About</a></li> </ul> <div class="visitor-information drawer"> <p class="free-open">Free and open to the public</p> <form class="search " role="search" method="get" action="/search/"> <div class="form-group"> <label for="searchtext" class="hidden">Search:</label> <input name="q" id="searchtext" type="text" class="form-control drawer" placeholder="Search"> </div> <button type="submit" class="search-button drawer">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> <div class="sub-nav-wrap"> <button class="sub-nav-toggle" data-target="#sub-nav" data-toggle="collapse" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="collapseExample">In this Section</button> <ul id="sub-nav" class="sub-nav collapse"> <li class="first"><a href="/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/">Current Exhibitions</a></li> <li><a href="/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/">Upcoming Exhibitions</a></li> <li class="last"><a href="/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/">Past Exhibitions</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="int-feat"> <img src="https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/smartmuseum/i/basic_pages_large_images/hero_image_50th_final_(1).png?mtime=1726867638" alt="" class="int-feat-img" /> </div> <div class="main-content main default-list"> <h1>The 50th: An Anniversary Exhibition</h1> <h2>September 24, 2024 – March 2, 2025</h2> <div class="exhibtion-artwork-callout side-media right"> <img src="https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/smartmuseum/i/artwork/1968_0003_recto002_web.jpg?mtime=1719266214" alt="Abstract painting by Joan Mitchell " class="exhibtion-artwork" /> <p class="attribute"></p> </div> <p><em>The 50th: An Anniversary Exhibition</em> explores what makes and defines a university art museum. A pioneer in arts-based learning, the Smart and its mission have evolved since the Museum opened its doors in the fall of 1974. Absorbing, reflecting, engaging with, and at times resisting the latest ideas, the Smart has continued to change. Throughout however, it has remained a space for exploration and experimentation and a site for bringing people together from the University of Chicago, South Side communities, and beyond. </p> <p>This exhibition traces the layered, sometimes hidden, histories that have made up the Smart Museum of Art. These histories range from fraught beginnings of building a teaching collection and important relationships with local artists, critics, and community leaders, to opportunities presented by unexpected gifts and partnerships. It reconsiders the impact of the Museum’s past exhibitions that have told different narratives, programs that have pushed boundaries, and acquisitions that have altered the course of the collection. It explores the Smart’s dedication to broadening academic engagement on and off campus. Drawn from the collection, the exhibition presents over 180 works from across the breadth and depth of the Museum’s holdings, including paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and archival materials.</p> <p>For the past five decades, artworks in the <a href="/collections">Smart’s collection</a> have been activated in myriad ways to generate curiosity, pursue knowledge, and foster creative modes of interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration with diverse audiences in mind. In reflecting on this institution’s past, <em>The 50th</em> hopes to chart new possibilities for the role university art museums play in our communities. </p> <hr /> <p><strong>Image: </strong>Joan Mitchell, <em>Untitled</em>, ca. 1961, Oil on canvas. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Gift of Katharine Kuh, 1968.3 © Estate of Joan Mitchell.</p> </div> <div class="page-calendar-wrap"> <div class="page-calendar"> <h2 class="upcoming-headline">Related Events & Programs</h2> <ul> </ul> <h3 class="view-calendar event-detail"><a href="/public-practice/calendar-of-events/">View Full Calendar</a></h3> </div> </div> <div class="exhibtion-support-wrap"> <div class="exhibtion-support"> <div class="support-exhibtion"> <h2>Curator</h2> <p>Galina Mardilovich, Curator</p> <h2>Support</h2> <p>This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Smart Museum’s Board of Governors, Joan & Stanley Freehling Fund for Arts, Helen and Jack Halpern Fund, Janis Kanter and Thomas McCormick Endowment, Paul and Miriam Kirkley Fund for Acquisitions, Eloise W. Martin Fund, and the Inge and Edward Maser Memorial Fund. Additional support has been provided by the Smart Museum’s Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry Fund, Mellon Challenge Endowment for Smart Museum, the Smart Family Foundation Endowment, and the Museum’s SmartPartners.</p> <p><em>Presented in the Elisabeth and William M. Landes Gallery, the Richard and Mary L. Gray Gallery, the Robert and Joan Feitler Gallery, the Joel and Carole Bernstein Gallery, the Janis Kanter and Thomas McCormick Gallery, and the Edward A. and Inge Maser Gallery.</em></p> </div> <div class="sustain"> <div class="sustain-smart"> <div class="icon-circle support"></div> <div class="icon-text"> <h2><a href="/support/smartpartners/">Support the Smart</a></h2> <p>The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago opens the world through art and ideas. Join our community. </p> <p><a href="/support/smartpartners/">Give now »</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <footer role="contentinfo"> <div class="f-wrap"> <div class="f-row"> <div class="f-contact"> <address class="vcard"> <span class="museum-name">Smart Museum of Art</span><br /> <span class="url fn org">The University of Chicago</span><br> <span class="adr"><span class="street-address">5550 S. 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The 50th: An Anniversary Exhibition | Smart Museum of Art