Depression-era works to be displayed online in new reality for Tacoma Art Museum
The Tacoma Art Museum (TAM), which has been closed since March 16, soon will make available online a six-part exhibit called “Forgotten Stories.”
The exhibit, available June 10, spotlights the Great Depression era of the 1930s when the economic crisis was met with the government commissioning artists to create art as a means of getting financial support during the downturn.
Margaret Bullock, chief curator at TAM, worked on the exhibit for 18 years. It features paintings and other works.
“It’s really about rediscovering work that’s been forgotten,” Bullock said in an interview with The News Tribune. “To have to close the doors on it again during another huge national crisis is ironic and also apropos.”
As reported by KNKX, the in-person exhibit opened Feb. 22 but was closed shortly after.
The online display and a book on the project will ensure the work still can be seen, even if it wasn’t as originally intended.
Plans for the exhibit to travel from TAM to Oregon though are on hold. That means the exhibit will stay in Tacoma for now.
“We’re still hopeful the exhibition will travel to Oregon as planned, so fingers crossed that it works out,” Bullock said.
David Setford, executive director at TAM, praised how the online exhibit came together.
“It is dynamite. It is well worth waiting for,” Setford said.
That sentiment was echoed by Bullock, who is looking forward to seeing how an outside pair of eyes will evaluate the work.
“I’m excited for people to see it,” Bullock said. “I’ve had to look at so many variations of it and watch it so many times that now I’m numb to it.”
The change represents a shift in how museums are presenting exhibits and how they will continue to serve the community with an uncertain future ahead.
“A lot depends on when the doors reopen and what we do from there,” Bullock said. “I’m hoping we can do more with other exhibitions even if the doors are open because I think there are plenty of people who either can’t come to the museum during this moment or are uncomfortable potentially going to a public place.”
Christina Westpheling, director of education and community outreach at TAM, said there is a newfound recognition of the need to connect with the public online.
“We’ve been so incredibly focused on creating meaningful in-gallery experiences,” Westpheling said. “It forced us in a really wonderful way to figure out how we are going to bring those same values and priorities to virtual and digital programming.”
Hillary Ryan, director of marketing and communications at TAM, said they have been lucky to be able to continue reaching their audience through online content, especially compared to other organizations unable to make the transition.
“I have a tremendous amount of sorrow for places like the Tacoma Arts Live, where they’re looking at not being able to do anything until November of this year,” Ryan said.
That hasn’t made the transition easier for TAM.
“It was a steep learning curve just because it wasn’t a priority area for our institution, but it has been a good kick in the pants for us to make sure we’re including digital experiences alongside in-person ones as we continue to plan for additional exhibitions in the future,” Westpheling said.
This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
