Virginia Living Magazine has
reaffirmed what the College community and our neighbors already knew
about the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College.
In May, the magazine will feature the
Maier as one of the top three art museums in Central Virginia. (The
actual ranking is a secret until May, though.) The selection came
from reader contributions and was not sought by the Maier, according
to Martha Johnson, interim director.
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| Maier volunteers Betsy Jones (sitting) and Judy Arthur (with apron) lead a tour for local elementary school children and their student-teacher, Erin Dunn '09. |
“It is pretty exciting that we
didn’t go out there looking for this,” Johnson said. “We were
the ones the readers of this magazine thought about.”
In honor of this recognition, we
compiled the top five reasons the Maier is a fantastic resource for
the art and education community. Here they are:
- Art
The Maier cares for the nearly 4,000
works of art in the College’s collection. While some art cycles
through exhibitions in the Maier galleries, other paintings grace the
walls of buildings around campus, including Main Hall corridor. The
collection includes works from American artists representing a
variety of styles and media.
- College Education
The College’s art collection and the
Maier’s facilities enhance the liberal arts education we provide to
our students. Art students meet there to study techniques and art
history; creative writing students craft poems about paintings;
psychology students analyze artwork; and Spanish students write
Spanish essays about the paintings.
Last semester, a group of six students
took an opportunity for even more hands-on learning. They curated afull exhibition that is now on display in the Maier. More than 200
people came to the exhibition’s opening reception. Experiences like
that help us share the high quality art education we offer to our
students with the general public.
- Local education
For about 20 years, the Maier has
hosted Art and SOL, a program which allows second and fifth graders
from Lynchburg to experience art and learn principles outlined in
Virginia’s Standards of Learning by visiting the Maier.
“We give the second graders the
vocabulary for talking about art. When they come back as fifth
graders, the conversation just gets better,” Johnson said.
- Community programs
The Maier hosts community events
throughout the year, including programs for the entire family.
Regular favorites include The Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art
and Love at the Maier. In a new program, the Alzheimer’s
Association will conduct Arts Fusion tours, which give
dementia-afflicted patients and their caregivers the opportunity to
explore art together.
“They found
that patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia responded so well to a
structured experience in art museums,” Johnson said. “It was
beneficial to them as well as to their caregivers.”
- Dedicated staff and volunteers
None of this would be possible without
the people who make it happen. Sarah Bare, the office manager, keeps
track of the Maier’s books and runs its website and social media
properties. Deborah Spanich acts as custodian of the artwork and the
documentation regarding the collection, while her husband, John
Spanich, serves as preparatory, hanging each exhibition, conducting
minor frame repairs, and rotating the art around campus.
The Maier also has about 60 volunteer
docents and receptionists. Many of the docents are alumnae of the
College, but anyone is welcome to volunteer. “It’s open to anyone
who has the interest and the desire and the time to do it,” said
Johnson.
Any of these reasons by themselves make
the Maier a great resource; together, they make it one of the best.
We look forward to the May edition of Virginia Living to find
out more.
