Ackland Messaging Alignment: Explainer Document for National Advisory Board

BACKGROUND:

The Ackland has started a new initiative to align its messaging. This project aims to give staff, boards, university administrators, docents, members, students, and others the tools they need to deliver clear and consistent messaging about the Museum. We are creating a series of messaging resources — or “explainer documents” — for Ackland stakeholders. The first resource created as part of this project is designed to assist the members of the National Advisory Board in starting conversations about the Ackland with people who may not have heard of the Museum. This is a living document. The case studies were chosen to emphasize the Ackland’s current projects as they reflect the Museum’s values and priorities. This resource is still in draft form. We would like your help in shaping this document so that it is useful to you. Please email any comments to Ariel Fielding (ariel.fielding@unc.edu) by October 31, 2024.

FRAMING INFORMATION:

The Ackland Art Museum is a hub of dynamic activity on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Ackland supports and advances UNC-Chapel Hill’s mission of teaching, research, and service. We share the University’s commitment to excellence in these areas and in the development and stewardship of our collection of more than 21,000 works of art, which we hold in trust for the people of North Carolina. Admission to the Ackland is always free.

The Ackland’s collection represents 7,000 years of human creativity. It is global in scope. The Ackland shares its collection with the campus, the public, and communities across the state through exhibitions, research, teaching, and a full slate of art-related activities for all ages. As UNC-Chapel Hill’s art museum, the Ackland is the largest classroom on campus. Museum educators and graduate fellows teach class sessions in the Museum across dozens of academic fields. The Ackland devotes one of its largest galleries to displaying art for University courses.

Highlights of the Ackland’s permanent collection include North Carolina’s most comprehensive collections of Asian art and works of art on paper — drawings, prints, and photographs. The collection also includes significant holdings of European works, twentieth-century and contemporary art, and North Carolina pottery.

Case Study #1: Ackland Exchange

A black-and-white print of a sleeping cat and a mouse after conservation treatment.
“The Large Cat” after treatment

One of the most appealing things about art museums around the globe is their spirit of sharing, cooperation, and public service. The willingness of museums to lend their art to other institutions multiplies the number of people who will have a chance to enjoy it. The Ackland shares the art in its collection with communities across North Carolina by lending exhibitions and expertise to universities in the UNC System. Launched in 2020, the Ackland Exchange Initiative has sent exhibitions to the Museum of the Southeast American Indian at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke; Elizabeth City State University; and Fayetteville State University. The Ackland’s fall 2024 exhibition, Dürer to Matisse: 400 Years of European Prints, began as part of the Ackland Exchange. On a global scale, the Ackland has lent works from its collection to the Louvre Museum in Paris and Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam, to give just two examples.

Image credit:

Cornelis Visscher, Dutch, c. 1629-1658, The Large Cat, 1657, engraving, sheet: 5 1/2 x 7 3/16 in. (14 x 18.3 cm). Burton Emmett Collection, 58.1.837.

Case Study #2: Teri Greeves Acquisition

A red cloth embroidered with a pattern of green beads that branches like the roots of a plant

The Ackland recently acquired a study by Kiowa artist and bead worker Teri Greeves in connection with the exhibition Past Forward: Native American Art from Gilcrease Museum. Greeves came to campus with her sister, metalworker Keri Ataumbi, for a five-day residency in the Department of American Studies, culminating in a public discussion at the Ackland. While on campus, Greeves spoke at length about Study: Ant Roots in an interview with Associate Curator for Contemporary Art and Special Projects, Lauren Turner. Researching art in the collection by talking with living artists is an important part of the Ackland’s role within one of the world’s great research universities. Greeves spoke with Turner about the physical properties of the materials she used, how those properties helped to guide her creation of the work, and the resonance of the work with Kiowa creation stories and worldviews. This important contextual information will help Ackland staff and UNC-Chapel Hill faculty to teach with Study: Ant Roots.

Image credit:

Teri Greeves, Kiowa, born 1970, Study: Ant Roots, 2023, hemp silk dyed with cochineal, glass beads, garnets, and cast sterling silver ant by Keri Ataumbi, 16 × 16 in. (40.6 × 40.6 cm). Gift of the Caldwell Family Fund in memory of Jenny Tone-Pah-Hote, 2024.25. ©Teri Greeves

Case Study #3: Japanese Handscroll Video

A group of students and a curator look at a scroll unrolled on a table

The Ackland collaborated on a video with the University’s Japanese History Lab, a student group led by Professor Morgan Pitelka. The video features a very long early nineteenth-century illustrated handscroll in the Ackland’s collection. The video pans across a photograph of the scroll accompanied by audio commentary from students. Drawing on contributions by an international team of experts and translators, Dr. Pitelka also provides his thoughts as part of the video’s narrative. The video includes footage of students viewing the handscroll in the Ackland’s Print Study room. It includes captions, and will be available soon on the Ackland’s YouTube channel. This project is an example of a student-centered learning opportunity, intra-university and international collaboration, the global scope of the Ackland’s collection, and the centrality of teaching, research, and service to the work of the Museum.