Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art grand opening to feature four innovative exhibitions
The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art will hold its grand opening on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 10 a.m.. Four opening exhibitions — Out Our Way, Hoof & Foot: A Field Study, A Pot for Latch and The Making of a Museum — will be displayed following the grand opening.
Out Our Way presents the creations of 12 artists hired by Richard Nelson, the founding chair of UC Davis Department of Art in the 1960s.
Hoof & Foot: A Field Study is a video project by Chris Sollars, a Bay Area artist and art professor at Mills College in Oakland. The video shows the symbiotic relationship between animals on the UC Davis campus and the life of UC Davis students.
A Pot for Latch is an interactive exhibition, in which attendees can participate by exchanging artwork with the museum’s selected collections. This is an activity designed for people to look back at the growth of the Department of Art as well as forward to the exciting future.
“This is actually related to the 1960s art faculties and their costumes, because in the 1960s art faculties used to give art to each other,” said Karen Nikos-Rose, the associate director and media representative at Manetti Shrem Museum.
The Making of a Museum will exhibit videos, models and drawings that illustrate the fascinating process of constructing the museum.
As the most anticipated building debuting in the coming month, no one can overlook the museum’s impressive architecture. SO-IL, an internationally-renowned architecture firm founded in Brooklyn, New York, created the striking design that is visible from Interstate 80.
The design’s signature feature is the Grand Canopy outside the museum. At first glance, the Grand Canopy is an imposing cover for this single-story, 30,000-square-foot building. Moreover, the intricate dappled patterns on the canopy turn the intense nearby lighting into changing shadows and silhouettes.
“I also love how well our architects thought about the whole experience, and our mission of having people come to experience the space, not just visit,” said Elisa Massenzio, a fourth-year design and Italian double major at UC Davis and student assistant at Manetti Shrem Museum.
Apart from the grand lobby, the museum also has a courtyard and two lounges for visitors to relax, along with free Wi-Fi and plenty of power outlets.
The new museum aims to serve all UC Davis students, not singularly those who study art or art history. In fact, there will be a reception for current UC Davis students the night before the museum opens, complete with music, pizza and student performances.
The museum has also created a student coalition to try to engage all students. Students can apply to be a member of the coalition and get involved in various museum projects.
“The museum wants to be a community space for students, and the best way to do that is have it be by students,” said Carmel Dor, coordinator of student engagement at Manetti Shrem Museum. “Students will also get a taste of the different things that happen in a museum and get to shape the student experience.”
For more information about Manetti Shrem Museum, visit its website, manettishremmuseum.ucdavis.edu. Admission is free for all visitors.
Writtten by: Betty Wu — arts@theaggie.org
