New Collections Lab Transforms JSMA’s Teaching Experience

As a teaching and learning museum, the JSMA upholds its belief that knowledge of art enriches people’s lives by engaging faculty and students with the museum’s permanent collection, loans, and exhibitions.

Prompted by our ever-growing teaching mission and collection, the JSMA undertook the creation of a new object-based teaching space for students to interact with art: The Collections Lab. By transforming this 1,700 square foot room to better meet our institutional goals, the JSMA has created a space to meet the needs of our organizational mission.

This renovation offers significant improvements in our ability to host academic visits, as it allows for both the accommodation of larger classes and safe storage for our large scale, contemporary Chinese photography and other important works. The improved facilities include over 5,500 square feet of rolling art racks to visibly store our largest photographs and framed art. The art racks allow us to share large pieces without time-consuming retrieval and unpacking. Moreover, the addition of 30 flat file drawers provides a dedicated space for unframed works, while a purpose-built display wall enables the presentation of items during class periods. A large display monitor and space to accommodate up to 40 students allow us to host more classes with greater efficiency. The JSMA extends its heartfelt gratitude to Jack and Susy Wadsworth and their W.L.S. Spencer Foundation for the gift of art and supporting funds which made this transformative project possible.

As expected, we are already seeing an increase in object-based teaching by faculty, prompted by the availability of these improved facilities. Since its opening in February 2023, the Collections Lab has hosted over 40 class visits and shared more than 600 artworks, a notable increase over past years, and evidence that this space has increased our institutional capacity to support our collections and the teaching mission of the University. We look forward to the continued evolution of this space as a catalyst for transformative education in the years to come.

The Collections Lab was made possible with generous support from the W.L.S. Spencer Foundation. Additional support from the Japan Foundation provided funds for additional flat file storage for works on paper frequently used by UO Faculty.