Program areas at The Phillips Collection
Development and presentation of special exhibitions including works from The museum's own holdings, loans from individuals and other institutions, and collaborations with other venues. Highlights from fy23 include The continuation of lou stovall: The museum workshop, which reexamined The history and legacy of The dupont center, an artist's museum founded in Washington, dc in 1969; an italian impressionist in paris: giuseppe de nittis, a look at The friendships and collaborations with other artists alongside The paintings of a relatively unknown (outside of italy) central figure to The aesthetic and institutional upheavals of 1870s paris; pour, tear, carve: material possibilities in The Collection, an exhibition drawn from The permanent Collection to explore how artists have (continued on schedule o) utilized traditional and nontraditional art materials to act as conduits of meaning; and frank stewart's nexus: an american photographer's journey, 1960s to The present, a retrospective of stewart's photography that centered on his sensitive and spontaneous approach to portraying world cultures and black life in many forms.
Management and maintenance of The museum's permanent Collection of nearly 6,000 works was originally created beginning in 1913 by duncan Phillips and later his wife marjorie Phillips and opened to The public in 1921 as The nation's first museum of modern and contemporary art. Our new acquisitions reflect The museum's efforts to enhance and diversify The Collection by embracing works that reflect a narrative of modern and contemporary art beyond The traditional focus on european and american art and speak to communities we are working to serve. Activities include conservation, acquisition of new works through both gift and purchase, digital reproduction for publications and for presentation on The museum's website, artstor, google art, and The multi-museum app bloomberg connects. (continued on schedule o) The high quality of works in The Collection presents many opportunities for collaboration with other museums both for exhibition partnerships and for sharing works to enhance exhibitions at other venues. The Phillips also develops exhibitions which travel to other venues to give those living outside The dc area The opportunity to enjoy The treasures we hold. The Phillips Collection library supports research on works of art in The museum's permanent Collection, special exhibitions, and The history of The museum.
The Phillips Collection was able to offer a full guest experience with our cafe re-opening april 2023 with a well-loved local bakery as our vendor. Our gift shop continues to be one of The best museum shops in The world! We engaged with our audiences through onsite, digital, and hybrid programs including member art tours, exhibition openings, sunday concerts, and others. We connected with both current and potential members and visitors through our website, social media, e-newsletters, local and regional marketing and advertising, and our participation in The bloomberg connects app. Our dynamic and popular 1st thursday of The month program, Phillips after five, returned in september 2022 and we opened our doors on 3rd thursday evening free of charge. We were again able to offer our museum as a unique and (continued on schedule o) captivating location for external events throughout The year.
The Phillips presented a broad range of programming designed to appeal to The museum's expanding visitor demographic. Education programs help audiences see, create, and engage with art in new and unexpected ways. The Phillips provides in-depth professional development opportunities on arts integration using The museum's Collection and online resources. Professional development opportunities feature artworks from The Phillips's special exhibitions and permanent Collection and focus on prism.k12, The museum's arts integration strategies and model for culturally responsive teaching httpswwwphillipscollectionorgpris... Professional development sessions are designed for teachers to easily integrate The ideas and activities into their classrooms, and they may take place at The museum, at area schools, or virtually. In 2022-2023, The museum reached 495 teachers through 19 professional development sessions, which included three-hour sessions, fifteen-hour multi-week programs, and a weeklong summer teacher institute. Additionally, The museum has over 50 online lesson plans available through their website that connect across all subject area. We reached 2,912 pk-12 students within The dc public and charter schools, Maryland, and Virginia during The fiscal year through 102 tours. 79% were dc schools. The museum's multi-visit school partnership program, art links, reached 1,374 students from 13 schools. The Phillips Collection's workshop and gallery at The town hall education arts recreation campus (thearc) provides a space to view, discuss, make, and exhibit art. Our programs are co-created with our partners and participants to encourage authentic community dialogue, community planning, and community action. From its very inception, The Phillips has focused on The healing power of art. Our creative aging partnership with iona senior services and arts for The aging (afta) transitioned to virtual events in april 2020. Iona's new campus near thearc allows The Phillips to serve more older adults in wards 7 and 8. Our most popular virtual offering with an average of 70 participants each week is our art-based meditation program, consisting of an art discussion led by The Phillips's head of experiential learning and guided meditation led by The museum's resident yoga teacher.