Featuring a selection of more than 140 artworks acquired through gifts and purchases made throughout the last decade, the exhibition highlights the museum’s ongoing commitment to building a globally representative collection.
Works in the exhibition range in date from 63 BCE through 2022, from ancient Roman glass, 19th-century photography, and Song dynasty ceramics to contemporary art in every medium. With more than 7,000 works of art and artifacts — 2,000 of which have been acquired since the Wellin was established in 2012 — the museum’s collection represents a broad range of cultures, historical periods, artistic practices, and movements. To arrive at the selection of the objects on view, special consideration was given to works that have been the focus of Hamilton classes and community events and those that address an array of themes and speak to a variety of disciplines. The works of more than 100 artists are represented.
“Dialogues Across Disciplines” will continue to change over the course of the 2022-23 academic year until it closes on May 20, 2023. Some works will be replaced by others by the same artist, and labels with new commentary will be added throughout the run of the exhibition.
Members of the Hamilton community have been invited to lend their personal and expert perspectives by writing texts to accompany the artworks on display. This collaboration deepens understanding of individual works and underscores how the active participation of faculty, students, staff, and administrators brings the artworks to life. To spark responses to the themes in the exhibition, educational prompts are situated throughout the gallery interspersed between artworks highlighting the interrelationship between the curatorial and educational aspects of the museum.
The exhibition is curated by Tracy L. Adler, the Johnson-Pote Director, and Alexander Jarman, assistant curator for exhibitions and academic outreach.
Interactive Timeline
A timeline of the museum’s growth and development during its first ten years may be found on the Wellin website.