The Jule Museum: 2023 Year in Review

2023 YEAR IN REVIEW

OUR MISSION

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, in service to the region and the nation, welcomes everyone to explore, experience and engage with the visual arts.

OUR VALUES

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, a cultural heart of an Alabama public research institution, is guided by a set of core values that serve its communities.

COLLABORATIONS + PARTNERSHIPS

ENGAGEMENT + LEARNING INQUIRY + EXPERIMENTATION

EQUITY + INCLUSION

STEWARDSHIP + GROWTH

4

13

13

15

22

285

2,018

3,908

4,114

7,800

17,840

68,328

176,768

Live Broadcasts

Exhibitions

Podcasts Produced

Objects Added to the Collection

Artist and Scholar Visits

Objects Used in Instruction

PreK–12 Visitors

Offsite Participants (PreK–12, University and Community)

Auburn Students, Faculty and Staff Visitors

Community and Regional Visitors

Total Participants

Visits to jcsm.auburn.edu

Facebook and Instagram Accounts Reached

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

CINDI MALINICK

Dear Friends,

When I think of The Jule and 2023, what immediately comes to mind is a key pillar from President Christopher B. Roberts’s installation remarks last spring: Exceptional Student Experience . This perhaps is no surprise, since as an academic museum, we work first and foremost to ensure we are offering student-centered experiences every day.

We think and plan a great deal to create spaces for them to think, gather and relax, enhancing their relationships, cultural understanding and well-being. From the continual use of art objects for instruction, scholarship or a study session, to “Self-Care Saturdays” and “Night at the Museum,” The Jule offers a welcoming environment for students. Our student guide and visitor services corps also greet our guests and lead most museum tours. We truly value them and are confident that their experiences will be applied throughout their lives.

Given Auburn’s land grant mission, our museum work also extended beyond our physical site. Museum in Motion traveled regularly to Newbern; art from the collection is hanging at the Huntsville campus, as well as in Madrid, Spain in the Museo Nacional Centro de Art Renía Sofia in the fall; tens of thousands of DC-metro-area shoppers experienced a traveling exhibition The Jule organized at Tyson’s Corner; and museum staff members taught classes with the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project and the Honors College.

This year also marked The Jule’s 20th birthday. We began celebrating at the Annual Director’s Dinner by announcing a gift exceeding half a million dollars from the Smith Family to endow the William Collins Smith Award for Advancing American Art. Their generosity ensures in perpetuity national recognition for the museum and the university for accomplishments in American art.

As President Roberts quoted William Shakespeare’s The Tempest that special fall evening, “What is past is prologue,” and we most certainly are building on the past for all the opportunities yet to come. 2023 offered so much for which the museum is thankful, and we eagerly anticipate a full and vital 2024.

I am particularly grateful to a stellar team at The Jule, an enthusiastic and deeply supportive Advisory Board, colleagues across campus, the state, region and nation, and of course, all of our donors and patrons.

In gratitude,

Cindi Malinick Executive Director

Alabama Prison Arts and Education Project

Center for Education Outreach and Engagement

Department of Theater and Dance

Auburn Global

Becoming the Beloved Community

Department of Art and Art History

Department of Curriculum and Teaching

School of Industrial and Graphic Design

Department of Geosciences

First Year Experience

University Program Council

Department of English

Safe Harbor

School of Kinesiology

Department of Philosophy

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture

Outreach Global

Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work

Department of History

USDA Agricultural Research Services (Auburn, Alabama)

Korea Center –King Sejong Institute

Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center

City of Auburn SoundEmbrace

Alabama Visual Arts Network

The Yoga Room

Auburn United Methodist Church REACH Community Respite

Auburn Area Community Theatre

Art Wellness Exchange™

Newbern Library

City of New Site Senior Citizens Center

Wiregrass Museum of Art

O-Grows Farmers Market

Boy Scouts

East Alabama Boys and Girls Club

Calhoun County Schools Gifted Education Program

SummerNight Downtown Art Walk

glo (Atlanta, Georgia)

Our House

Students attend “Common Grounds” on Thursday evenings.

Masaomi Yasunaga’s avant-garde style counters simple forms used in daily Japanese life.

A basketball fan, the artist visited Neville Arena for a complete Auburn experience during his visit from Japan.

Masaomi Yasunaga: In Holding Close

January 24 – May 7, 2023

Grand Gallery and Calloway Sculpture Gallery

Artists in the exhibition raise questions about identities, beliefs and existence.

The Jule Museum Podcast: Episode 13: Sacred Symbols with artist Tony Rodrigues

The Jule Museum Podcast: Episode 14: Fragile Histories with artist Rachel Libeskind

The Jule Museum Podcast: Exhibition mixtape created by sound healing practitioner Lavender Suarez

The Jule’s Randi Evans, PhD, meets with students in the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project with artist Tony Rodrigues.

Lavender Suarez leads “Self-Care Saturday.”

Bill L. Harbert Gallery and Gallery C

The Jule Museum Podcast: Episode 15: Migratory Roots with artist Kevin Brisco

Kevin Brisco attends a portfolio session with Department of Art and Art History students.

January 24 – August 6, 2023

Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Gallery

The Jule Museum YouTube: Alabama Clay Conference keynote with artist Beth Cavener

Joey Brackner, former folklorist at Alabama State Council on the Arts, discusses Alabama pottery.

The makers’ creativity elevates functional objects and sheds light on the state and her people.

Artist Beth Cavener addresses the Alabama Clay Conference, held for the first time at Auburn in 2023.

January 24 – May 7, 2023

Clay Body – Pottery and Stoneware of the Southeast

Noel and Kathryn Dickinson Wadsworth and Chi Omega-Hargis Galleries

Tysons Corner Center | Fairfax, Virginia

October 13, 2023 – January 2024

Organized by The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, in partnership with ArtsFairfax.

The Jule Museum YouTube: “A Conversation with Andy Yoder”

Andy Yoder presents to Auburn High School students alongside English and kinesiology faculty members.

Yoder designs sneakers with seventh grade students for the Auburn Studio Project.

Installation of Andy Yoder: Oveboard at Tyson’s Corner Center in Virginia.

From the creative teams of Jonah Bokaer Choreography, Partner-in-Charge Charles Renfro of Diller, Scofidio + Renfro - DS+R, and Isang Yun, interpreted by violinists Angela & Jennifer Chun.

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Grants for Arts Projects and NEA Dance.

The Jule Museum Podcast: Episode 19: Indecent Spaces

Partner-in-Charge Charles Renfroe and choreographer Jonah Bokaer tour Sloss Furnaces with education coordinator Ty Malugani in Birmingham. The team developed a new video about this landmark.

The performance art and media piece explores a location’s meaning, citizenship and identity.

During class visits throughout the spring semester, students in the Departments of Art and Art History, English, history, and curriculum and teaching discussed the exhibition alongside contemporary conversations around monuments and engaged with organizing curators ahead of the exhibition run. They produced a gallery guide, new monument proposals and maquettes, original poetry and essays.

This exhibition is co–organized by the American Federation of Arts, Chesterwood, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Saint–Gaudens Memorial in partnership with the Saint–Gaudens National Historical Park. Support for the exhibition and publication was provided by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. Major support for the publication has been provided by the Wyeth Foundation for American Art.

The Jule Museum Podcast: Episode 18: Memorial Poems

The Jule Museum Podcast: Episode 17: Monuments Class Project

Monuments and Myths: The America of Sculptors

Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French

May 31 – August 6, 2023

Bill L. Harbert Gallery, Gallery C, Noel and Kathryn Dickinson Wadsworth and Chi Omega-Hargis Galleries

The Jule Museum Podcast: Episode 23: Jim Draper

Guests at the Annual Director’s Dinner tour the exhibition.

Jim Draper’s paintings and drawings are informed by journeys into the wilds of Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

Radical Naturalism – Jim Draper: Feral

September 9 – December 10, 2023

Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Galleries

glo, an artist-led platform founded in Atlanta by social practice choreographer Lauri Stallings, perform.

Unveiled showcases never-before-seen or rarely exhibited works.

Ypsilon highlights audience favorites and renowned artists in the university art collection.

Ypsilon: Paths in Achievement and Inquiry

September 9 – December 10, 2023

Noel and Kathryn Dickinson Wadsworth and Chi Omega-Hargis Galleries

The Jule Museum Podcast: Episode 21: Memory Mine

Artists with glo perform Topography of Relations , a site-specific installation of Memory Mine .

Sam Moyer created a mixed-media installation from Sylacauga marble.

Sam Moyer: Memory Mine

September 9 – December 10, 2023

Bill L. Harbert Gallery

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM IS A FIRST 56/TIGER NIGHT

This campus-wide initiative instills healthy habits in the first few months of the new school year and offers alcohol-free alternatives.

ALT TEXT WRITING PROJECT

“Alt text,” short for alternative text, describes online images for those with low vision. It is important for accessibility, keyword search accuracy and recognition by assistive technologies. Student guides and visitor services associates develop these descriptors as one of their ongoing projects—more than 3,000 objects and counting!

Diverse perspectives ensure “alt text” reflects the image’s meaning for everyone, capturing various interpretations and nuances. This inclusivity empowers everyone to access and engage with the content effectively online. At right is an example from Auburn’s collection.

The Jule Museum Podcast:

“Globs

of color at the bottom of the piece, yellow and dark neutral tones. Pinks and oranges surge through a semi-circular shape to explode at the top.”

Whitney Wood Bailey (American, b. 1983), The Soul in Paraphrase , 2019, oil on paper.

PREK-12 & MUSEUM IN MOTION

Randi Evans, manager of Public Practice and Community Partnerships, visits the Newbern Library in Hale County.

Christy Barlow, PreK-12 and Family Programs manager, reads a book related to exhibitions.

Museum in Motion departs The Jule for Global Community Day.

MOTION

A FAMILY'S PHILANTHROPY

With a lead gift of more than half a million dollars, The Julia and Albert Smith Foundation, led by Albert “Bert” Smith III, established The William Collins Smith Auburn Award for Advancing American Art.

T his cash prize recognizes field-defining contributions by an American artist, scholar or practitioner in the art or museum profession and highlights the university’s commitment to the importance of American art. In 1948, Auburn purchased 36 paintings from the historic Advancing American Art exhibition and began a university art collection.

Concurrently, the Award also honors the legacy of Chair Emeritus, William Collins Smith, whose unwavering support of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art advanced the importance of art at Auburn and beyond through his years of service on the Advisory Board.

The Jule will name its first recipient at the Annual Directors Dinner in October 2024.

WILLIAM COLLINS SMITH 1957-2023

President Christopher B. Roberts with Executive Director Cindi Malinick and members of the museum advisory board.

Bert and Gwen Smith celebrate the museum’s birthday and issue a call-to-action to support the Auburn Prize.

Bill’s wife Monica Smith with Katherine Samford Smith pose in front of Jule’s portrait.

MEET US IN ....

This series connects you with premium arts, culture and culinary experiences in select destinations. Alumni and friends of Auburn at Mobile’s Alabama Contemporary Art Center (ACAC) and in Santa Fe, New Mexico to tour the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

ACAC is home to Auburn’s futures studio , where students and faculty interact with external partners on new products, packaging and branding.

Participants tour the recording studio at Mobile’s Alabama Contemporary Art Center. Guests tour Ex Tabula Rasa at ACAC.

Santa Fe is home to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Auburn’s art collection includes a painting by the iconic artist.

2023 SEASON PARTNERS

Thanks for your investment.

$500,000 AND ABOVE

Julia & Albert Smith Foundation

$100,000 AND ABOVE

Millie and Andy Gosch

Mr. Julian Max Handel

The Honorable Henry Mark Kennedy '73 and Peggy Wallace Kennedy

$50,000 AND ABOVE

City of Auburn

Mrs. Patricia P. Disque '63 and Mr. James Disque

$25,000 AND ABOVE

Auburn-Opelika Tourism

Mr. Lee Kirkland

Ms. Mary “Dixie” Torbert and Mr. Robert Alton

Mitchell

$10,000 AND ABOVE

The Auburn Network

East Alabama Living

Mr. Frederick Hawryliw

Mrs. Phyllis Day Davis '72 and Mr. Thomas Davis

LAMAR of Montgomery

Dr. Gerald S. Leischuck

Mr. Preston T. Phillips, Jr. '73 and Mr. Charles Forthofer

$5,000 AND ABOVE

Alpha Beta Chi Omega House Corp

Anonymous

Mr. Erich Brittion

Mr. Raul Danon

Dr. Lynn Barstis Williams Katz

Mr. George Robert Lowry '69

Mr. and Mrs. Carlton Earl Nell, Jr. '84

$2,500 AND ABOVE

Mrs. Janet Zickfield Burns

Mr. and Mrs. Brian Lewis

Dr. Joel Candler Pittard and Mrs. Rosemary Anders

Pittard

$1,072 AND ABOVE

Dr. Joseph A. Aistrup and Dr. Shelley Ann Aistrup

Mr. and Mrs. Dalton Ard

Ms. Maria Baugh '87 and Ms. Elizabeth Zale

Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Lebron Brantley '70

Mr. Paul Kyle Butler '59 and Mrs. Pallie J. Butler '58

Mr. and Mrs. William R. Byrd

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Chase '62

Mr. Clifford Bartlett Darby '87 and Mrs. Amy

Edington Darby '89

Mr. James Dean '82

Mrs. Frances Pick Dillard

Ms. Mary C. Dixon '66

The Flower Store

Mrs. Sally Q. Gates '65 and Mr. James Gates

Mrs. Margaret A. Gluhman

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Lee Henderson '76

Dr. and Mrs. Richard Jaeger

Dr. and Mrs. James Jenkins, Jr. '64

Kappa Delta Sorority, Sigma Lambda Chapter

Dr. Lynn Barstis Williams Katz

Dr. Edward E. Kern III '74

Mrs. Erwin D. Key '53

Mr. Lee Kirkland

Dr. Barbara Pitts Larkin and Mr. Tom Larkin

Mr. and Mrs. Harald F. Lassen III '89

Mr. Robert Neil Lauder '86

Ms. Molly Lee

The Honorable Ted Little

Dr. David L. Martin and Dr. Catherine R. Perricone

Dr. and Mrs. Matthew Scott Phillips

Dr. Stuart B. Price, Jr.

Mr. Guin Robinson '86 and Mr. Tim Parker

The Honorable and Mrs. John Edward Rochester '77

Mr. Jeffrey Ira Stone '79 and Dr. Linda J. Stone '79

Mr. Conrad Harold Ross

Dr. Stephen P. Schmidt and Dr. Margaret C. CraigSchmidt

Dr. Peter Schwartz

Mr. Stanley Joe Sistrunk '79

Ms. Bonnie Lavonia Smith '67

Mrs. Elizabeth Gregory St. Jean '70 and Mr. Robert St. Jean

Mrs. Peggy Stelpflug '78

Mr. Frank Stewart III '77

Mrs. Barbara C. Swift

Mrs. Sandra M. Tucci '15 and Mr. James M. Tucci

Mrs. Myrna McGuire Walker

Mr. Rick Nathaniel White '87

Ms. Jane Luster Williams '69

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Stanley Woltosz '69

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Mitchell Wood III '78

Mrs. Madonna Wozny '97 and Mr. James Wozny

ENDOWMENTS

The Auburn Award for Advancing American Art Endowed Fund for Excellence in Memory of William Collins Smith

The Milton J. and Helene R. Alexander Endowed Fund for Acquisitions

Art Changes Lives Endowment

The Elizabeth A. and Thilo D. Best Endowed Fund for Excellence

The Carlisle Endowment Fund for Museum Administration

The Dunlop Family Endowment for Museum Acquisitions

The Robert Ekelund and Mark Thornton Endowment for Museum Acquisitions

Martin Moss Freeman '77 Endowed Fund for Excellence in Memory of Dr. Alfred and Shirley S. Freeman

The Millie and Andy Gosch “Silver Dollar” Endowed Fund for Excellence

The Grisham Endowed Fund for Museum Administration

The Mamie L. Hardy Memorial Endowment

The Joan Cousins Hartman Fund for Museum Maintenance and Preservation

Drs. Charles M. and Rebecca C. Hendrix '11 Endowed Fund for Excellence

The Netty Murphey Jordan Museum Endowment

The Honorable Henry Mark Kennedy '73 and Peggy Wallace Kennedy Endowed Fund for Excellence

The Betty Coston Lassen Endowed Fund for Excellence in Education

The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Fund for Museum Acquisitions

Shelia J. McCartney Endowed Fund for Art Collection Maintenance

The Martin-Perricone Endowed Fund for Excellence

Louise Hauss Miller Audubon Endowment

The Dr. Douglas L. and Mrs. Anita Nielsen Endowed Fund for Excellence

The Susan Phillips Endowment

The Sigma Lambda Kappa Delta Endowed Fund for Exhibitions

The Albert J. Smith Jr. Endowed Assistantship Jule Collins Smith General Fund for Excellence

The George C. and Nancy S. Thompson Endowed Fund for Excellence

The Williams-Mason Endowed Fund for Excellence

AUBURN'S ART COLLECTION

Ben Shahn: On Nonconformity

Museo Nacional Centro de Art Renía Sofia

October 4, 2023 – February 19, 2024

Auburn loaned two works—the 1946 oil painting, Hunger , and a political poster reproduction of the same work—for this retrospective of a major figure in American social realism.

Object Conservation

Three objects underwent conservation in 2023, including the outdoor sculpture Corona by Lin Emery, Self-Portrait by Robert Brown and Untitled by Josef Albers.

Southern Humanities Review and the Auburn Witness Poetry Prize Collection objects graced two covers of the Literary quarterly produced by the Department of English, including the issue dedicated to the Auburn Witness Poetry Prize. For its ninth year, The Jule presented the event with prizewinning poet Samyak Shertok and juror Joy Harjo, the 23rd poet laureate of the United States.

Auburn Magazine

“Art Bargain of the Century,” chronicling the establishment of a university art collection, ran as the Fall 2023 cover. The issue is distributed to more than 200,000 alumni and friends of Auburn worldwide.

SOUTHERN HUMANITIES REVIEW

The Jule Museum Podcast: Episode 20: “Art Bargain of the Century”

EXPANDING THE COLLECTION

1. Robert Russell (American, b. 1971), Kleiner Schäferhund , 2022, oil on canvas. Anonymous gift.

2. Eldzier Corter (American, 1916–2015), Head of Young Woman , 1955, oil on board. Museum purchase in honor of Dr. joyce gillie gossom.

3. Carlton Nell (American, b. 1962), After 199 , 2017, oil on panel. Gift of the artist.

4. Manon Ballet (French, b. Switzerland, 1979), Native 10 , 2018, cyanotype on paper. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Susan Phillips Endowment.

5. Bea Nettles (American, b. 1946), Hen and Chicks , 1979, kwik print. Gift of the artist.

COLLECTION

6. Bea Nettles, White feet and ducks , 1979, kwik print on vinyl. Gift of the artist.

7. Manon Ballet, Native 5 , 2018, cyanotype on paper. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Susan Phillips Endowment.

8. Paula Castillo (American, b. 1961), Demeter’s Harvest , 2023, stainless steel. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Alpha Beta Chapter of Chi Omega to commemorate 100 years of sisterhood at Auburn, 1923–2023.

9. Tommy Coleman (American, b. 1987), Invasive Barrier (Love Fence) , 2021, epoxy resin, steel, slashe, and raw pigment.

10. Timothy Curtis (American, b. 1982), “Aw Man, You wouldn't believe me if I told you” (A short story based in Philadelphia) , 2021, oil, wax pastel, graphite and acrylic on canvas. Anonymous gift.

THE JULE'S ADVISORY BOARD

Auburn’s President appoints the advisory board, who voluntarily serve as advocates, advisors and fundraisers.

Guin Robinson '86 (chair)

Robert “Bo” Lauder '84 (vice chair)

Martin Freeman '77

joyce gillie gossom

Judy King

Tenley Lewis

Michael O’Neill '74

Barbara Pitts Larkin

Honorable John E. Rochester '77

Katherine Samford Smith '17

Mary Dixon Torbert

Ann Tucker

Lisa Van Der Reijden

Foster L. Ware III

Whitney Wood Bailey '05

LEFT TO RIGHT:

INVEST IN THE ARTS AT AUBURN

ANNUAL SEASON PARTNERSHIPS

Discover ways to share your passion for the visual arts and savor new experiences as a season partner.

$100,000 $50,000 $25,000

$10,000 $5,000 $1,072

CHARITABLE GIFTS TO MUSEUM PROGRAMS

Charitable, tax-deductible gifts in support of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art or other programs at Auburn are made through the Auburn University Foundation, which receives such gifts on the university’s behalf. Your philanthropic donation to the museum may be tax-deductible as a charitable contribution. No goods or services have been provided to you in exchange for the gift.

Ellen Killough '92

Auburn Advancement

850.258.9437 | elk0033@auburn.edu

Madonna Wozny '97

Auburn Advancement

334.844.3005 | madonna.wozny@auburn.edu

AUBURN

Anne Marchand (American, b. 1950), Arc Rising , 2005, acrylic, sand, beads, garnet and charcoal on canvas. Anonymous gift.