The Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas is grateful to the Eugene McDermott Scholars Program Alumni Association for this transformative gift, which serves as the first gift of its kind that truly celebrates and recognizes the Museum's partnership and association with The University. 2020 was certainly a pivotal year for the Crow as the pandemic quickly affected standard operations. General planning and programming was put on pause, offering new opportunities for engagement and connection. Creating new content - primarily in a digital format - took precedent as the Museum rallied to maintain relevancy and impact for the Asian and student communities, and the collection. In addition, the Museum suffered further damage in the summer of 2020, due to vandalism sustained during public protesting in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. This further compelled the Museum to reflect upon and create new dialogue about race relations and its impact in our communities, and establish a stronger voice condemning racial discrimination of any kind.
As the Museum was closed to the public for the majority of year, normal education efforts such as school tours, course curricula, and educator workshops were put on hold. Emergency funding was needed to help pay for additional 24-hour security and boarding up of windows following the May 2020 riot damage (14 windows were smashed, Lotus Shop was vandalized and looted, and exterior artwork was boarded and crated). A portion of the EMSPAA grant has been earmarked for these unbudgeted expenses. In addition, the planned virtual collections tour project was also put on hold pending the continued closure of the Museum.
On January 30, 2021, the Museum reopened with three new exhibitions. This spring and fall, the Museum is planning a 2-part panel discussion series focusing on Born of Fire: Contemporary Japanese Women Ceramic Artists. These panel discussions will feature the renowned art dealer and Japanese pottery expert Joan B. Mirviss (Joan B. Mirviss LTD, New York) and all six Japanese women ceramic artists featured in the exhibition. Although the spring panel is planned to be in the digital format, the fall program is tentatively scheduled to be a hybrid of virtual/in-person panelists, and an onsite reception for local guests. The Crow Museum is proud to recognize EMSPAA as the presenting sponsor of this series as the most high profile and public event planned for this year. EMSPAA's gift will be allocated toward expenses for visiting guests, marketing, and possible in-person fall reception.
Visit https://crowcollection.org/exhibitions to learn more about the exhibitions currently on view.
The Crow Museum welcomes the opportunity to privately tour EMSPAA through a series of EMSPAA Open Houses during closed hours for EMSPAA members and their corporate and individual guests throughout this year. As the Museum is continuing to operate under limited occupancy capacity, several dates can be made available to accommodate all interested groups.
With my sincerest gratitude, please do not hesitate to contact me for further information or questions.
Caroline Kim
Director of Development
The Crow Museum of Asian Art