Art Exhibitions
Foundation for Our Future
The AMAM completed an 18-month renovation project in June 2011. Highlights include 18 geothermal wells; new HVAC, security, and fire suppression systems; new lighting in all galleries, and ADA-accessible restrooms for the public. Renovating and expanding the museum’s art storage spaces was a central goal of the project, and new state-of-the-art storage furniture now allows museum staff to access artworks more quickly, conveniently, and safely for educators, students, and researchers. Expanded storage space also provides room for the collection to grow, a capacity critical to the AMAM’s mission as a teaching museum. The project seeks LEED Gold certification.
Collecting and Recollecting: Celebrating Art at the Allen
The Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) celebrates its impressive permanent collections this year, introducing the public to new works and old favorites. On view for the first time in many years are Ancient Near Eastern and Islamic objects, as well as recent acquisitions, and artworks that highlight special Oberlin stories. This reinstallation of the collections honors the foresight of a few and the generosity of many.
The inaugural Rubin Institute for Music Criticism takes place at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, January 18-22, 2012. It will bring together leading music critics, renowned musicians, and aspiring young writers for an intensive week of performances, criticism, and discussion. Steven Rubin, president and publisher of Henry Holt & Co., has generously supported this new institute.
About the Allen Memorial Art Museum
Founded in 1917, the Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) is one of the finest college or university collections in the United
States. Comprising more than 12,000 works of art from virtually every culture and spanning the history of art, the AMAM’s collection
is a vital cultural resource for the students, faculty, and staff of Oberlin College as well as the surrounding community.
Notable strengths include 17th-century Dutch and Flemish art, 19th- and early 20th-century European and contemporary American
art, and Asian, European, and American works on paper. The collection is housed in an impressive Italian Renaissance-style building
designed by Cass Gilbert and named after its founder, Dr. Dudley Peter Allen, a distinguished graduate and trustee of Oberlin
College. In 1977, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates designed an addition that represents one of the earliest and finest examples
of postmodern architecture in the United States.