Though the Katzen Arts Center’s doors are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, their Museum@Home initiative brings exhibits online. The spring exhibitions can be viewed on the museum’s social media and online catalogs on American University’s website.
Below is a preview of what to expect from the three exhibitions:
The Long Sixties: Washington Paintings in the Watkins and Corcoran Legacy Collections, 1957-1982:
This exhibit displays a diverse collection of works from D.C. artists. The museum’s curator, Jack Rasmussen, said his memories and experiences affected his decisions while putting this gallery together.
“My perspective includes the acknowledgment of persistent, systemic gender and racial injustice, bias and violence that was present in the fifties, laid bare in the sixties and continues to the present day,” Rasmussen said in an essay he wrote for the exhibition.
This final collection of works is a push to display the artwork of persons who are underrepresented in most Washington museums.
“Raya Bodnarchuk: This Is a True Picture of How it Was”:
Raya Bodnarchuk was a teacher at the National Park Service in the Center for the Arts for 33 years. According to the exhibition page, she taught her students to “Do something you love every day.”
She lived with that same motto in mind — over that 33-year span, she created 1,926 paintings.
Bodnarchuk is famous for her sculpture, silkscreen and collages, but this exhibit focuses on her watercolor paintings and celebrating her life’s work.
Peace Corps at 60: Inside the Volunteer Experience:
This exhibition, presented by the AU Museum Project Space, is a virtual experience sharing artifacts and stories from 30 peace corps volunteers.
These objects represent the 60 years and over 240,000 volunteers who brought the Peace Corps mission of building friendships among nations to life. You can explore the stories of AU students who have worked with the Peace Corps through the “Student Voices” section of the virtual exhibit. The “Watch Faces” portion of the exhibition is an opportunity to understand the diversity of the Peace Corps. The Museum of the Peace Corps and Experience and the museum are also partnering to hold a free symposium on March 31 from 4 p.m.-7 p.m.
Milked is an exhibit displaying the works of the 2020 MFA graduates Lizzy Alarcón, Jennifer Frank, Nieko McDaniel, Matthew Russo and Cynthia Warshaw.
Their works expand over many mediums including digital prints and 3D elements creating an intriguing variety even online.
These pieces reflect on the artists’ shared feelings as they finish their education living through a pandemic, social unrest and political change, according to the website.
