Munson Bulletin May 2023

MEET US AT MUNSON

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

F. X. Matt III, Chair

Christian Heilmann, Vice-Chair

Dietra Harvey, Secretary

Vige Barrie

Rev. Sharon Baugh

Dr. Steven J. Brown

William C. Craine

Emma Golden

Robert Knight

Betty Krulik

Mark Levitt

C. Sonia Martinez

Laura Tansey Wetzel

Richard Griffith, Trustee Emeritus

John B. Stetson, Trustee Emeritus

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Munson community,

THANK YOU to all who joined our launch party on March 28. More than 600 people filled the Root Sculpture Court to learn about our new brand and enjoy an evening celebrating Munson’s next chapter. It was exciting to see so many from our community come together—from Munson members who have supported us for decades to friends from across the city.

We were founded as an artistic and social center for our community and we welcome everyone to join us here to connect with art, with one another, and with their own creativity. Munson has served Utica for more than a century, and we look forward to welcoming visitors for another 100 years.

There are other transformative projects in the works, including reimagining and rehabilitating the Museum of Art’s Genesee Street landscape as an inviting public park with trees and native plants. Plans are well underway and construction will take place in the summer of 2024. In addition, we have just completed a conceptual, long-range campus master plan to envision the future of our 10-acre, 25-building campus, which includes the Museum of Art, Fountain Elms, Pratt Munson College of Art and Design, and art studios.

It’s a busy month as we welcome spring and gear up for an exciting summer. We are happy to be the public voting location for a new large-scale mural that will be in downtown Utica's Liberty Bell Park. Visit the Museum by May 5 to vote for your favorite of four finalists selected from nearly 30 local and national submissions.

Also at the Museum this month is a joyful exhibition celebrating our Pratt Munson second-year students who are leaving our campus this spring for Pratt and their final two years of a BFA. Don't miss this season’s final Keyboard Conversations, one of my favorite perennial programs. Concert pianist Jeffrey Siegel expertly performs classical pieces while offering engaging and candid background so you enjoy the music in an entirely fresh way.

There are many opportunities to meet us at Munson this month!

Anna Tobin D’Ambrosio President and CEO

MUNSON EVENTS

THROUGH MAY 5

Public Voting for Downtown Utica Mural | Museum of Art

Cast your vote at the Museum for the new mural at Liberty Bell Park in downtown Utica. When the downtown building currently adorned with the "sunburst" mural was in need of reconstruction, the City of Utica assembled a panel of representatives from across the city to select four finalists from a local and national call for public art proposals to replace the image this summer. A two-week period for in-person public voting at the Museum of Art is open until May 5. Visit us to help choose the winning design!

Carlos Barboza

Rafael Blanco

Steven Teller

Amber Art & Design, Linda Ferandez and Keir Johnston

SATURDAY, MAY 20

The Met Live in HD: Mozart's Don Giovanni 12:55 p.m., Museum of Art, Sinnott Family-Bank of Utica Auditorium

Tony Award–winning director Ivo van Hove makes a major Met debut with a new take on Mozart’s tragicomedy, re-setting the familiar tale of deceit and damnation in an abstract architectural landscape and shining a light into the dark corners of the story and its characters. Maestro Nathalie Stutzmann makes her Met debut conducting a star-studded cast led by baritone Peter Mattei as a magnetic Don Giovanni, alongside the Leporello of bass-baritone Adam Plachetka.

$26 General Admission | $22 Members

The Met: Live in HD is sponsored at Munson by Elizabeth R. Lemieux, Ph.D.

The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant form its funding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital support of The Met: Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met: Live in HD series is supported by Rolex. The HSD broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builders.

SATURDAYS, MAY 6, 13, 20, 27

JUNE 3, 10, 17

Art and Yoga

10:30 a.m., Museum of Art

Our long-running wellness series features a 15-minute gallery talk followed by an hour yoga session. All levels welcome. Bring your own mat.

May / June (all seven classes)

$75 General Admission | $50 Members

Any Six Classes

$65 General Admission | $45 Members

Drop-in Fee per Class

$15 General Admission | $10 Members

SATURDAY, MAY 13

Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel: Mozart and Friends

7:30 p.m., Museum of Art, Sinnott Family-Bank of Utica Auditorium

Jeffrey Siegel concludes the 2022-23 season of Keyboard Conversations with Mozart and Friends. Attendees will discover the stories behind Haydn's humorous “Gypsy Rondo” and deeply affecting “F Minor Variations,” Beethoven's stormy “F Minor Sonata,” and Mozart's ebullient and virtuosic “The Trumpeter” as Siegel, an internationally renowned pianist, discusses the influences that affected the creation of the music before playing each piece in its entirety.

$38 General Admission | $33 Members

Keyboard Conversations are sponsored by Dr. Cynthia Parlato, Dr. Douglas Hurd and Dr. Lorna W. Grant.

MUNSON FILM SERIES

Wednesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sinnott Family–Bank of Utica Auditorium

Enjoy new foreign, independent, and award-winning films each week. Find May films on our website and social media pages.

$9 General Admission | $7 Members

Multi-film discounted passes are available.

The Film Series is generously sponsored by M&T Bank.

EXHIBITIONS ON VIEW NOW

Admission to the Museum of Art is free for all except when noted for special events and exhibitions.

Pratt MUNSON

Sophomore Exhibition

Open through May 10

Museum of Art

Support graduating Pratt Munson sophomores in their final exhibition before heading to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. The exhibition is housed in the main Museum of Art building through commencement on May 10.

Caden Smith, Pratt Munson Sophomore, Illustration

Behind the Design

Open through May 15

Museum of Art

The original hand-lettered typography found in the 1960 Museum of Art building was crafted by trailblazing graphic designer Elaine Lustig Cohen. The custom typography Cohen created forms the basis for the Munson font today.

SPECIAL EXHIBITION SPORTING

FASHION

OUTDOOR GIRLS 1800 TO 1960

JUNE 23 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 17

Museum of Art

A captivating new exhibition explores the allure of athletic attire in Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960, which opens with a Members-only preview on June 22.

Sporting Fashion is the first exhibition to explore the evolution of women’s sporting attire in fashion over this 160-year period. The exhibition also highlights the lives and accomplishments of 16 storied women in sports.

This exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles.

The Utica presentation is sponsored by Richard and Constance Griffith, Elizabeth R. Lemieux, Ph.D., the Family of F.X. Matt II, Joseph A. Abraham, Cheryl and Fred Haritatos, and The Hon. Joan E. Shkane (ret.). Institute support is provided by an endowment established by David E. and Jane B. Sayre Brant.

Swimming Ensemble, 1920s. Photo: Brian Sanderson, © FIDM Museum, Courtesy American Federation of Arts

MUNSON LAUNCH PARTY

ART IN BLOOM JURY AWARD AND PEOPLE'S CHOICE WINNERS

1. Jury Award Best in Show

Julie Young, Professional Floral Designer Floribunda Designs, Oneida, New York Expansion sphérique de la lumière [Spherical Expansion of Light], 1914, Gino Severini

2. Jury Award Best Creative

People's Choice Best Creative Denise Goodwin, Professional Florist Blooms and Blossoms Florist, Oneida, New York Scene on the Salt Meadow, 1866 Martin Johnson Heade

3. Jury Award Best Traditional Erin Grygiel, Flower Farmer Pine Hills Farmstead, Frankfort, New York The Trout Pool, 1878, Jonathan Bradley Morse

4. Jury Award Honorable Mention

People's Choice Best in Show Jamie Hall, Professional Floral Designer ReFind Design Voyage of Life: Manhood, 1840, Thomas Cole

5. People's Choice Best Traditional

Amanda Mackey, Professional Floral Artist Whitesboro, New York AgCro, 1964, Robert Huot

6. People's Choice Honorable Mention

Cathy Clarke, Professional Floral Artist

The Clinton Florist, Clinton, New York Untitled (Magic Diamonds), 2020, Rico Gatson

Above are images from the launch party on March 28, which was attended by more than 600 community members.

MEMORIAL PROVIDES UPGRADE TO PRATT MUNSON'S JEWELRY STUDIO

For most of his professional life, Dr. Arthur Margolis and his wife Beverly lived in Utica. Beverly was an avid artist and enjoyed taking classes in Munson’s Community Arts program to learn painting, sculpture, jewelry, and metalwork. Jewelry-making was a special favorite of Beverly’s. Sadly, she passed away shortly after Arthur’s retirement and their move to Florida.

Arthur took advantage of the opportunity to make a generous gift to Munson through his Individual Retirement Account in late 2021, directing that we use those funds to make some long-desired updates to the jewelry studio. Through his support, new flex drills were installed and an old and worn kiln was replaced with two new ones. These upgrades impact both Pratt Munson students and Community Arts participants, offering expanded opportunities for their creative efforts.

Dr. Margolis’s gift accomplished several things: it enhanced Munson’s studio spaces, respected Beverly’s legacy, and in making this generous gift he also accrued a tax benefit for himself.

There are many opportunities at Munson to do something similar, benefiting the Museum of Art, School of Art, or Performing Arts programs.

Reach out to John Murphy, director of development, at 315-797-0000, ext. 2297, to discuss how you can make a lasting impact on the experience of our many members and visitors.

INFORMATION AND HOURS

Museum of Art

Tues. – Sat., 10 a.m. to 5

Performing Arts Ticket Office

Mon. – Fri., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Doors open one hour before performances and 30 minutes before films. Phone: 315-797-0055 or 1-800-754-0797

School of Art Offices

Mon. – Fri., 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Art Research Library

Mon. – Thur., 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat., noon to 5 p.m.; and Sun., 3 – 8 p.m.

The following areas are accessible to the physically challenged: Museum of Art Galleries, Auditorium, and Sculpture Court, Art Odyssey: Interactive Gallery, Museum Shop, Art Library, Performing Arts Office, School of Art Gallery, Studio D, and the Pottery Studio, the Academic Center, and Student Center.