The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art will reopen May 22 after almost seven months of closure due to COVID-19. This is the longest the museum has ever been closed for health reasons since its opening in 1933, according to Executive Director John Weber.
The museum houses over 15,000 pieces of art, featuring an array of exhibitions, collections of historic and contemporary art and educational programs. The JSMA is also the only academic art museum in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Weber said he is ecstatic to finally welcome people back to the museum. The museum was originally supposed to reopen May 1, but Lane County’s move to extreme risk hindered those plans.
“I’m really excited to see the JSMA open again and see all the exhibits again,” said Emma Jacquez, an art major at UO. “It’s been really neat seeing the different exhibits circulate the museum pre-COVID, and I’m pumped to see different artists’ art when I can go back for class assignments.”
Debbie Williamson-Smith, the communications manager for the museum, said, “One of the things that I think the museum really excelled at behind the scenes is extending all the remarkable art opportunities so that people will get to see them.”
Originally a winter exhibition, the JSMA extended its display of the work of Belkis Ayón — a Cuban print-maker — to the spring. “It’s exciting that we have so much amazing art,” said Williamson-Smith.
This is the first exhibition that the museum will feature once reopened. “The exhibition opened in February, and then nobody got to see it,” Weber said. “The museum launched a really good virtual tour online not long after the show opened, but that’s still not like seeing the work in person.”
When the pandemic hit, the museum began producing online content ranging from virtual tours to high resolution still-image slideshows. The museum also hosted its community programs over Zoom. “We realized that’s what we had to do given the pandemic — create virtual access,” said Weber.
He said the museum has had higher participation than before the pandemic. Some in-person events that used to have only 15 to 20 attendees have had as many as 90 online, and some of the museum’s Zoom events have had up to 280. “We’ve never had events this big in person, so there has been a bright spot there, but again, it’s still not the same as seeing the art in person.”
One of these community programs is called “Art Heals,” which provides “resources and prompts that inspire art creation, expression and healing during the current healthcare crisis and outbreak of COVID-19,” according to the JSMA website.
“This last year has been an intense period, so I think art is really important,” said Weber. “Art is one of the ways a society — a culture — can communicate about who and what we are. We need that.”
Weber said people can expect Marché Museum Café, a cafe attached to the museum, to reopen in fall when classes are in-person and more people are vaccinated.
The JSMA is hosting a Members Weekend from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 15 and 16. Students can sign up for a free JSMA student membership online, which allows them to attend for free.
