Artists push Native art to evolve using new techniques and materials
Artists discuss how Native art evolved and why many don’t have the same regard and access to mainstream galleries and museums as non-Indigenous peers.
The Phoenix Art Museum is in the middle stages of its five-year plan to further cement its reputation as an exceptional regional art museum. With this big change, the museum has worked to create a space where visitors to feel immersed in art without feeling intimidated to learn.
One of those steps includes a major renovation of the north wing’s second floor, which houses the Art of the Americas + Europe Galleries. This wing has been under construction for the past five months and it will finally be ready for the public on Nov. 28.
In addition to the renovations happening ahead of the museum’s 70th anniversary, this wing is also being renamed to honor one of the Phoenix Art Museum’s great leaders.
“We’re honoring the great James K. Ballinger, who was the long-standing director of the Phoenix Art Museum, who had a career there for over 40 years, both from a curator and a director level,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Phoenix Art Museum’s Sybil Harrington director and chief executive officer. “It’s been almost a decade since the wing has actually been renovated so it’s been a long time coming to update and refresh the entire floor.”
What’s new with the James K. Ballinger wing at Phoenix Art Museum
While the renovation only took around five months to complete, Mikolajczak and his team have been planning it for almost two years.
“We’re always refreshing the exhibitions, we’re refreshing the different layouts and in this particular case, because they’re such historic collections of the museum, from European to Latin American to American and Western Art, as well as the Thorne rooms,” said Mikolajczak. “We’ve collected a lot of works since the last renovation and now we get to bring some really great new things out on view as well as pay homage to some of the iconic works that we have in the collection.”
The second floor of the north wing now sports a newly reset floor, changing how visitors will flow through the exhibits. According to Mikolajczak, guests will walk up to the new Ballinger wing and find themselves immersed in American art, including the historic American and Western collections there.
They’re also relocating the Virginia Ullman gallery to make room to move the art of Philip C. Curtis into this space. Curtis was the original director for the Phoenix Art Center, a precursor for the Phoenix Art Museum.
“We’re relocating it upstairs to pay homage to these two great leaders, one from the founding director of the museum and to the one that sort of has really shaped the museum over many decades,” said Mikolajczak.
The beloved Thorne rooms that house Narcissa Niblack Thorne’s miniature replicas of historical interior spaces, along with the American, Latin, and European galleries, are still on display in the new Ballinger wing. However, Mikolajczak promises that three new galleries are still coming.
“Because we don’t want things to be static, we want people to come and come often and to come visit the galleries and see different things, so we have three different galleries in the James K. Ballinger wing that will actually rotate on an annual basis,” said Mikolajczak.
Two great Arizona artists are being featured, including the late painter Ed Mell. There will also be a special exhibition of the desert landscape series by George Elbert Burr, one of the great founders of the institution, according to Mikolajczak.
“It’s such an incredible moment for the museum, such an incredible moment for this community and we’re just really fortunate and it’s a privilege to be in this role. It’s a privilege to be able to share this with the community and we hope everybody comes out and enjoys and comes and experiences the Phoenix Art Museum,” said Mikolajczak.
How to visit the Phoenix Art Museum
When: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
Where: 21625 North Central Avenue, Phoenix.
Admission: $28 for adults, $25 for seniors, $23 for students, $16 for children aged 6-17, and children under 6 are free.
Details: phxart.org.
Meredith G. White covers entertainment, art and culture for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She writes the latest news about video games, television and best things to do in metro Phoenix.
