AMES, IA.- In honor of its 50th Anniversary, University Museums, Iowa State University, opens two new exhibitions at the Brunnier Art Museum that delve into the collections and exhibition practices of museums.

At times throughout history museums have been seen as static, unchanging, and out of sync with popular taste and fashion. This generalization is often located in the belief that art or history museums that aim to exhibit the past do not always make room for changing ideas. Yet contemporary art or cultural museums are also assaulted with similar accusations, which can come out of very understandable circumstances and reasons due to current worldwide sociopolitical situations.

In Their Time is an exhibition that takes a hard look at key questions within University Museums collections and aims to lift the veil from museum work.

• What does it mean to be an art institution on the brink of its 50th anniversary?
• How did the collection come into existence?
• What has changed in the last 50 years due to taste, society, and popular thought?
• How do the Museums deal with the problematic objects housed within the collections?
• Why do the Museums continue to care and conserve certain objects, yet not others?
• Who are the donors that have made this 50-year history possible?
• What is the future of museums and how does a university museum fit into these new conversations about the role of museums?

“In Their Time is an opportunity to explore the topics and concerns that many museums are grappling with today when it comes to collections,” said Adrienne Gennett, curator of the Brunnier Art Museum. “As an academic institution it is imperative that we have open discussions with students about the history of collecting and what that means for the future of museums.”

Spun out of an idea to take a hard look at those objects in the collection that have lost favor in the eyes of popular taste, this exhibition is an opportunity to engage University Museums curators with Iowa State University faculty and students to ask those difficult questions and engage in a meaningful dialogue about the future of museums.

“With the questions and generosity of John and Nancy Wiederspan, who first asked the ‘how do you deal with past curatorial choices?’, University Museums curators have come together to create an exhibition that confronts this and many other unique museum issues in the fall exhibition,” continued Gennett. 

The In Our Time exhibit builds further on these ideas, featuring a selection of University Museums’ recent acquisitions that reflect the themes found in the permanent collection companion exhibition In Their Time. Works of art included in this exhibition were acquired by University Museums curators for various collections since 2021 through commissions, donations, and purchases. Each object, artist, and proposed donation were carefully considered through a process of understanding the needs of the collections, ranging from adding new artists to the ability to augment the historical areas lacking representation in the collections. While these selections may be countered or critiqued by subsequent museum curators, today they fulfill important needs in the University Museums’ collections and move collections forward by representing new areas of creativity and innovation.

“As a companion exhibition, In Our Time explores recent curatorial acquisitions made in the last few years,” said Gennett. “On exhibit are recent donations, commissions, and Museums and donor funded acquisitions. It is always exciting to present the newest acquisitions to the collections and share our excitement on why these are important additions to the University Museums collections.”

In Their Time is curated and organized by University Museums. Support was given by John F. and Nancy J. Wiederspan and University Museums Membership.

In Our Time is curated and organized by University Museums.