The Phillips Collection and University of Maryland Form Dynamic Partnership to Transform Scholarship and Innovation in the Arts

WASHINGTON and COLLEGE PARK, Md., Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Phillips Collection's Director Dorothy Kosinski and University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh announced today a bold partnership between the two institutions with a shared vision to dramatically transform scholarship and innovation in the arts.

Layered with rich opportunities to collaborate, the agreement is ambitious, entrepreneurial, and risk-supportive, which are considered essential qualities in today's competitive arts and academic environments. Together, The Phillips Collection will expand its education programs, reach new and diverse audiences, and pursue key initiatives that align with the museum's strategic mission as an "experiment station" and institution for learning. At the same time, UMD will grow its established scholarship and academic programs within the arts, provide unparalleled research and education opportunities for UMD faculty and students, and expand its footprint in the nation's capital.

"This is a pivotal moment in Phillips history. As we look toward the museum's 100th anniversary in 2021, we intend to redefine its role within the cultural community locally and globally," says Kosinski. "Together with the University of Maryland—one of the country's leading institutions for research and innovation—we can reach new audiences, disrupt conventional thinking, and inspire new heights of achievement and impact."

"This remarkable partnership fulfills a long-time dream for this campus," said Loh. "Not only does it provide access to this priceless collection, but it brings a new vigor to our arts education, and to the entire campus.  We are genuinely a STEAM university—Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Math."

A TRANSFORMATIVE COLLABORATION
This partnership, rooted in shared values and a commitment to arts integration and innovation, will provide rich and meaningful opportunities for education, innovation, research, entertainment, interdisciplinary collaboration, and exploration.  University faculty and programming will complement the museum's expertise in scholarship, exhibitions, and publications, and will serve as a partner in the exploration of topics related to the museum's collections and programs. 

With long-term goals in mind and a forward-looking entrepreneurial spirit, this partnership—through investment from both institutions—will position the Phillips and UMD to achieve the goals articulated in their strategic plans while providing rich and meaningful opportunities for local and global audiences. 

To increase greater public viewing to more of the museum's exceptional 4,000-piece collection, the Phillips and UMD plan to develop a new gallery and open storage facility in Prince George's County. The new public facility will serve as a cutting-edge, modern and contemporary art center, hub for experimentation and innovation, and an artistic laboratory for a global community. This project would spark county and statewide economic development and dramatically expand outreach to students, faculty, the local community and a range of national and international visitors.

UMD will also now be the primary presenter of all Intersections exhibitions at The Phillips Collection. Intersections is the Phillips's series of contemporary art exhibitions that invites artists of today to explore the intriguing intersections between old and new traditions, modern and contemporary art practices, and museum spaces and artistic interventions. This partnership builds on UMD's already sterling reputation for building the future of the arts—from world-class performances at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center to cutting-edge training in arts management at the DeVos Institute.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ART AND KNOWLEDGE AT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
The University of Maryland Center for Art and Knowledge at The Phillips Collection is the expansion of the Center for the Study of Modern Art—the museum's nexus for academic work, scholarly exchange, and innovative interdisciplinary collaborations. Key collaborations under the newly named Center will include:

• Expanding on and developing new arts curriculum and extended studies courses and seminars focused on art, art history, arts management, museum studies, cultural diplomacy, conservation and interdisciplinary studies.
• Supporting two or more postdoctoral fellowships at the Phillips annually, with research conducted in the areas of modern art, conservation, music, and cultural diplomacy.
• Partnering on the Phillips's International Forum Weekend, which, since 2009, has brought together leading art collectors and committed philanthropists from around the world to engage with artists, art professionals, and diplomatic, Congressional, and Administration leaders to explore topics in modern and contemporary art in a global context.  
• Co-publishing the UMD-Phillips Book Prize, a biennial book prize for an unpublished manuscript presenting new research in modern or contemporary art from 1780 to the present.
• Co-presenting a new music series at the Phillips, developed in partnership between the Phillips and UMD's School of Music. 
• Enhancing programming for Creative Voices DC and other public programs, which includes expanding programming and academic offerings to UMD's campus, such as public lectures, college courses, symposia, interdisciplinary projects and artist talks.
• Digitizing of the museum's archives of 9,500 scholarly books, exhibition catalogues, and correspondence to preserve the archives in perpetuity and make valuable educational resources easily accessible to scholars, researchers and students around the world.

"By providing new opportunities for sustained inquiry, this partnership will enable the Phillips to deepen its educational mission and become internationally recognized as the leading resource for the study and appreciation of modern and contemporary art, while also enhancing the University of Maryland's reputation as a leading institution for the arts and a trailblazer for the STEM-to-STEAM movement nationally and globally," says Board Chairman George Vradenburg. "Picasso purportedly said of computers, 'They are useless.  They can only give you answers.'  Our increasing visual world demands that we add arts to STEM curriculum, so we can ask—and answer—the right questions. We believe this type of provocative and inclusive conversation can only arise from a collection of such specific and singular identity as the Phillips's."

As part of the new partnership, UMD students, faculty, staff and Alumni Association members will receive free admission to the Phillips, and have special access to the collection, facilities and museum staff for research and educational purposes. The Phillips will also offer internships for UMD graduate and undergraduate students in interdisciplinary fields.

The partnership between The Phillips Collection and University of Maryland will serve as a catalyst for an even more dynamic use of the museum's permanent collection and for the development of new educational programs across disciplines and audiences.

ABOUT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
The Phillips Collection is one of the world's most distinguished collections of Impressionist and Modern American and European art. Stressing the continuity between art of the past and present, it offers a strikingly original and experimental approach to modern art by combining works of different nationalities and periods in displays that change frequently. Artists represented in the collection include Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Honoré Daumier, Georgia O'Keeffe, Mark Rothko, Jacob Lawrence, and Richard Diebenkorn, among others. The Phillips Collection, America's first museum of modern art, has an active collecting program and regularly organizes acclaimed special exhibitions, many of which travel internationally. The Phillips also produces award-winning education programs for K–12 teachers and students, as well as for adults. The museum's Center for the Study of Modern Art explores new ways of thinking about art and the nature of creativity, through artist visits and lectures, and provides a forum for scholars through courses, post-doctoral fellowships, and internships. Since 1941, the museum has hosted Sunday Concerts in its wood-paneled Music Room. The Phillips Collection is a private, non-government museum, supported primarily by donations.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 47 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.8 billion operating budget and secures $500 million annually in external research funding. For more information about the University of Maryland, visit www.umd.edu.

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SOURCE University of Maryland

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