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Treasures from the Vault: Matika Wilbur

Not all treasures from the vault are works of art from our historical past! Matika Wilbur began her ongoing photography project in 2012. Documenting contemporary Native American tribes and cultures, Wilbur hopes to dispel the often inaccurate and stereotypical visuals of Native Americans pervasive in books, movies, and TV. Lauren Wolfer, Associate Curator of Special Collections & Archives, highlights our most recent acquisition from her project, now on view in A Year of Making Meaning.

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Treasures from the Vault: Ernest Withers

Professors from universities around the area bring their students to the Print and Drawing Study Center at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art to see works on paper from the permanent collection that are currently in storage. One of the most frequent requests is for the I Am a Man portfolio by African American photographer Ernest C. Withers (1922-2007). He is best known for his works documenting the Civil Rights Movement. Our Curator of Print and Drawings, Sachi, provides the background for Withers' photography career and the impact he had on the movement for equality.

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Docent Dialogue: The Marvelous Ms. Marlene

With the start of the school year also comes the start of our docent training for the year. What better time to get to know another of our wonderful docents, Marlene Cooper! Marlene’s enthusiasm for and love of art is infectious. Read on, and watch a short interview, to see why FWMoA is her happy place and the children she gives tours to are her favorite people.

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Treasures from the Vault: Polaroid Pictures

Today, we are more accustomed to posting digital images on social media than printing photographs and putting them in albums.  Recently, companies like Polaroid and Fujifilm have manufactured a line of retro looking cameras, like the Fujifilm Instax Mini, that produce prints almost immediately without the need for a darkroom.  Perhaps it is a mixture of nostalgia and novelty that has caused a resurgence in popularity with these instant print cameras.  

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What Do You See? Talking to Kids about Art

Here in the education department we are often greeted with the familiar refrain of “I’m not sure an Art Museum is the place for my family” or “What will I do with my family in the Art Museum?” when we invite visitors out of the Midwest summer heat and into our wonderfully air-conditioned building. Maybe it’s a misconception about art being stuffy, or that people without art degrees feel unprepared to take their families through an art exhibition, or that art is just plain boring. Whichever one happens to be the case, taking kids through an art exhibit can be easy and fun! All you have to do is ask one simple question: What do you see?

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Artist Highlight: Michelle Andonian

This Picture I Gift, Michelle Andonian’s series featured in The National: Best Contemporary Photography 2018, is a documentary series that illustrates the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. The effects of the genocide are especially meaningful for Michelle because her grandmother, Sarah, somehow escaped the chaos before it was too late. Only 9 years old at the beginning of the genocide in 1915, Sarah survived the massacre of 1.5 million Christian Armenians and displacement of hundreds of thousands at the persecution of the failing Ottoman Empire.