ASU Art Museum Highlights | DISRUPT | Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

Highlights from 2018-19

Art for Justice

The ASU Art Museum was a fall 2018 recipient of an Art for Justice grant. With the $125,000 planning grant, the museum is conducting research for an exhibition titled “Undoing Time: A Visual History of Incarceration” and related public programs by the museum’s director, Miki Garcia, and curators Heather Sealy Lineberry and Julio César Morales.

The Art for Justice Fund is a five-year initiative created by Agnes Gund in partnership with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and the Ford Foundation. The fund is dedicated to combating the injustices of mass incarceration through the collective action of artists, advocates and philanthropists.

Showcasing the permanent collection

The ASU Art Museum in the Herberger Institute has 162 Andy Warhol works – seven screen prints and 155 photographs – in its collection. Most of those were on display in the “Pop/Funk” exhibition that also showcased the work of Viola Frey, well known in funk art. The exhibition was just one of several exhibitions that used the museum’s permanent collection. Japanese-based artists Koki Tanaka and Kumie Tsuda researched ceramic pieces from the museum’s 5,000-plus collection to develop an installation as part of the “Rogue Objects” exhibition, and “From Darkness to Light” drew from the museum’s permanent collections to highlight the work of 31 internationally and nationally known artists who represent the human form to convey a vast range of emotions. This exhibition featured both ceramic and print media, representing two of ASU Art Museum’s largest and strongest holdings.

Get Weird

The museum held its popular Get Weird event to welcome back students at the beginning of the school year. Participants engaged in a variety of art activities and games. They had to finish all activities in order to gain access to a VIP room and surprise benefits.

Top 10

ASU Art Museum was named one of the “10 Best Museums in Metro Phoenix” by the Phoenix New Times. The article highlighted the museum’s 49,700 square feet, more than 12,000 objects in its collection and its emphasis on contemporary art, crafts, prints, Southwest art and art of the Americas. It also touted the museum’s wide range of programming, including lectures, family days, festivals and multidisciplinary performance.