Start the new year at TAM with two new exhibitions The Naturalist and The Trickster: Audubon/RYAN! opening February 1 and Forgotten Stories: Northwest Public Art of the 1930s opening February 22 as well as a wide-array of programs and activities. Tacoma-Pierce County teens will want to plan to come to the Museum on March 27 for TAM Teen Night when the TAM Teen Art Council will take over the Museum with programming and art-making just for teens. Finally, January 19 will be the final day of Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Their Circle: French Impressionism and the Northwest.
New Exhibitions
The Naturalist and The Trickster: Audubon/RYAN!
February 1- May 10, 2020
Although centuries apart, artists John James Audubon and RYAN! Feddersen have drawn inspiration from animals and the natural world to create compelling work that urges us to better understand the human impact on the environment. As 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, TAM presents this exhibition which explores themes of animals, environmentalism, and conservation.
Forgotten Stories: Northwest Public Art of the 1930s
February 22 – August 16, 2020
Alongside new highways and bridges, government investment in Northwest public art and artists in the 1930s stimulated economic recovery and resulted in hundreds of artworks whose story has been untold, until now! The exhibition will offer an extensive overview of the work created in our region and bring forgotten treasures back to view. Part of TAM’s historical Northwest Perspective exhibition series, it will be accompanied by a major publication.
Events
Press Preview
Thursday, February 20, 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Please contact Hillary Ryan at hryan@tacomaartmuseum.org to reserve your spot.
TAM Member Opening
Friday, February 21, 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Special Events
TAM Teen Night
Friday, March 27, 7:00-10:00 p.m.
What would happen if teens took over Tacoma Art Museum? Find out at Teen Night, a teens-only event for students age 13-18. This free biannual event opens up the entire museum for gallery activities, music and dance performances, artmaking sessions, photo ops and dancing! And it’s free!
Education Programs
Homeschool Day: Scientific Illustration
February 5, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Scientists use sketches and drawings to record their findings. Be a scientist-artist for the day and explore John James Audubon’s mammal drawings. Create your own scientific illustrations from real animal artifacts. Spend time exploring the galleries on your own with self-guided activities. Check out art-making activities in TAM Studio.
$10 per student; one adult chaperone per family free ($5 per additional adult); children under 4 free
No Longer Forgotten: Uncovering the Stories of WPA Artists in the Northwest
Sunday, February 23, 2:00 p.m.
Join TAM’s Interim Chief Curator and Curator of Collections and Special Exhibitions, Margaret Bullock, and co-authors and art historians Dr. Roger Hull and David F. Martin for a discussion of Northwest public art of the New Deal era. Though it has been long thought that the federal art projects of the Northwest were fairly small and that few works survived, research now shows that the projects in the Northwest were widespread and highly productive employing more than 600 artists and generating thousands of artworks. Hear stories about how this work was uncovered and rediscovered across Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Cost: $10 ($5 members/students).
Full STEAM Ahead: A K-12 Educator Workshop
Saturday, February 29, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., will be held at LeMay – America’s Car Museum
Tacoma’s Museum District brings you creative new ways to incorporate science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics into your classroom. Educators from America’s Car Museum, Foss Waterway Seaport, Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum and the Washington State History Museum provide engaging, hands-on workshops for both primary and secondary teachers.
Participation qualifies educators to receive up to 6 clock hours via PSESD. Registration includes lunch, cross-curricular lesson plans, parking and admission to each museum. Registration opens soon.
How are you incorporating STEAM into your classroom? Do you have questions for the STEAM panelists? If so, share them on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #FullSTEAM2020.
Please check with your school district regarding reimbursement for professional development.
Lecture: Roger van Oosten
Sunday, March 8, 1:00 p.m.
Join us for this exclusive members-only program. Our special lecturer Roger van Oosten will be focusing on the artworks produced in Washington under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This program will be a lecture with questions followed by a tour of the exhibition Forgotten Stories: Northwest Public Art of the 1930s.
TAM Teach! Teacher Workshop: WPA Then and Now
Thursday, March 12
Secondary workshop 3:30 – 6:30 p.m., Elementary workshop 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.
During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration and other federally funded arts projects changed the face of the Pacific Northwest, and inspired artists of many varieties. Explore artwork created for these art projects, investigating the historical and social context of the art and artists. Learn how artwork can support students’ learning in social studies classes at all levels. Cost: $15 per person for a 3-hour workshop; clock hours provided.
Ongoing Exhibitions:
Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Their Circle: French Impressionism and the Northwest
September 28, 2019 – January 19, 2020
Metaphor into Form: Art in the Era of the Pilchuck Glass School
January 19, 2019 – On extended view
Debora Moore: Arboria
January 19, 2019 – On extended view
Mary Van Cline: The Documenta Project
January 19, 2019- On extended view
Immigrant Artists and the American West
February 3, 2018 – On extended view
Native Portraiture: Power and Perception
February 10, 2018 – On extended view
Places to Call Home: Settlements in the West
February 17, 2018 – On extended view
Winter in the West
February 17, 2018 – On extended view
Animals: Wild and Captured in Bronze
January 27, 2018 – On extended view
Dale Chihuly at Tacoma Art Museum
On extended view
