When the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art was established in 1996, it became the repository for the art collection that Spelman College had amassed over several decades. Over the last fifteen years, the Museum has safeguarded the permanent collection and honed its unique mission to emphasize art by and about women of the African Diaspora. The Museum has established a growing reputation for presenting exhibitions that complement the academic curriculum and appeal to the wider community. Meanwhile, it has strategically been identifying and pursuing its mission-focused acquisition priorities and working to expand the College’s permanent holdings.
15 x 15: The 15th Anniversary Acquisitions Exhibition included a selection of signature works and recent gifts from Spelman College’s permanent collection. It also introduced the wish list of works by fifteen artists who the College aims to purchase through 15 x 15, a special anniversary acquisitions initiative. These fifteen artists were each featured in recent Museum exhibitions. Insightful responses from students, faculty, and the general public in large part informed, which artists were ultimately selected as part of these artists.
15 x 15: The 15th Anniversary Acquisitions Exhibition resisted presenting the works thematically or chronologically. Instead, they were arranged to highlight the scope of works in the collection, emphasize their significant links with the soon to be acquired works, and demonstrate the dynamic range of Spelman College’s collecting interests.
15 x 15: The 15th Anniversary Acquisitions Exhibition commemorated the Museum’s significant milestone. Deliberately fusing old and new, it created a context for Spelman College’s past, present, and future collecting efforts. The Museum appealed to visitors, donors, and contributors to financially support this special acquisitions project. Collective efforts helped grow the Museum’s unique emphasis on black women artists and catapult the institution into the next phase of its evolution.
Click here to access the 15×15 Exhibition Brochure.
Click here to learn more about how acquisitions made through the 15 x 15 Acquisitions Initiative expand the College’s permanent holdings.
