Vanderbilt University Museum of Art obtained a donation of two,917 images with an approximate worth of $10 million from Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz, unaffiliated donors to the college, in early October. VUMA will obtain the works by means of a gradual rollout till 2028.
VUMA was beforehand dwelling to the biggest artwork assortment in Tennessee and probably the most in depth collections of works on paper within the Southeast. VUMA now, moreover, has one of many largest collections of images within the area due to the donation.
Amanda Hellman, VUMA director, mentioned the donation is important as a result of not solely will it improve Vanderbilt’s visibility within the arts but in addition improve scholar engagement with the humanities.
“Where it’s really important for us is that it’s going to put us on the map as an actively collecting institution that uses their collections in different ways,” Hellman mentioned. “We’re actually being creative about how we engage the collections by doing digital exhibitions, research with students, putting them in classrooms [and] collaborating across campus with special collections.”
Hellman mentioned that the contribution has expanded VUMA’s {photograph} assortment from roughly 500 photographs to just about 5,000, shifting their focus and educating in direction of images.
“It really does shift one of our collecting focuses from early modern prints to photography. It’s incredibly impactful and really significant,” Hellman mentioned. “In terms of teaching itself, the collection is one that sort of demands student attention.”
The {photograph} assortment spans a number of historic occasions, together with World War II, the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. A big portion of the gathering consists of wire press photographs. Hellman mentioned the mixture of those photojournalism parts with the cultural relevance of the gathering’s subjects will improve scholar engagement with the donation.
“[The collection is] actually related while you’re speaking about civil rights images and civil rights occasions within the ‘60s and ‘70s in particular, which is not just a focus of this collection but is something that the university [is] more broadly interested in,” Hellman said. “We really intend to use this gift as a way to train students, get students involved, all of that. I also think there’s loads of educating potential, each in artwork historical past and extra broadly.”
Celia Walker, affiliate college librarian for neighborhood engagement on the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, mentioned items just like the Lipschultz’s allow college students from totally different backgrounds to have interaction with main supply materials in compelling methods.
“It’s that idea of close looking, taking the time to look at these objects with the guidance of an instructor,” Walker mentioned. “We have so many great ones in so many different departments who can take their expertise in different fields and guide you into an object based on economics, art history or English. I feel like these [contributions] provide a great opportunity for us to do that kind of work and work with students.”
Senior Grace Millett, majoring in Art History and Law, History, and Society, mentioned she thinks the donation is efficacious as a result of it is going to strengthen the content material of VUMA’s assortment in addition to recognition of the humanities on campus.
“It’s really cool when people donate physical objects [because] classes can engage with them,” Millett mentioned. “Growing that collection and growing the Vanderbilt art gallery in general is really helpful for students, especially because [VUMA] is also connected with local museums in the Nashville community in general.”
Junior Alex Wheatley, majoring in Art History, mentioned she thinks the contribution creates a possibility for Vanderbilt to obtain larger recognition within the arts.
“The Vanderbilt Museum of Arts is one of the areas of Vanderbilt that needs more attention. I think any recognition is appreciated. The more pieces we get in the collection, the more we can push for our own museum space [and] more funding,” Wheatley mentioned. “I’m appreciative of the gift, but I hope this makes Vanderbilt realize if they play their cards right, they can make the arts stand out as a sophisticated institution.”