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Snite Museum premiers temporary art exhibits
Megan Valley | Friday, February 26, 2016
The Snite Museum of Art, home to more than 28,000 pieces of art and one of the top university museums in the country, has recently added five new exhibits, according to Gina Costa, director of marketing and public relations for the Snite.
”We’re like a mini art institute,” she said. “Notre Dame students can own the fact that their University art museum is one of the top in the country, which is really important.”
Of the five current temporary exhibitions, “New to the Collection,” “African-American Voices” and “The Portage Path” are the three most popular with students, Costa said.
“New to the Collection: Twentieth-Century Photographs” is an exhibit of more than 60 photographs acquired by the museum since 2013, she said. The pictures span across many of the century’s artistic styles and technological developments, according to Costa.
Costa said photography and contemporary art exhibits are the most popular with students, with this display being especially popular.
“This exhibition really reveals the ongoing activity to refine the holdings of the Snite’s permanent collection of photography,” she said. “We have over 10,000 photographs — some of the most important [photos] in the history of photography are here at Notre Dame.”
“New to the Collection” will be displayed through March 13, Costa said.
“African-American Voices” features multimedia pieces by African-American artists pulled from the museum’s permanent collection, Costa said. One of the featured artists, Vanessa German, will be visiting campus from April 12 to April 14, Costa said.
According to Costa, German is one of the most important American artists at the moment, especially “when you think about social justice.”
“She has an ‘art house’ near her home in Pittsburgh,” Costa said. “ … It’s a safe place for women, for kids to go and make art. What’s coming out of there is just so empowering and so awesome.”
“African American Voices” will also continue running until March 13, Costa said.
“The Portage Path” is a collection of photographs commissioned by the Snite as part of South Bend’s 150th anniversary.
“Kay Westhues was commissioned by us to photograph some aspect of the local area, and she selected the St. Joseph-Kankakee River portage,” Costa said. “This path was used by the explorers, the fur trappers, and she’s visually documented this whole path, which is really why South Bend grew along the river.”
“The Portage Path” will be on exhibition through April 3.
Although those three exhibits are the most popular currently on display, Costa said she hopes even more students will take an interest.
“They’re three really exciting shows,” Costa said. “Everyone on campus will find something they love and [to] be inspired by.”
