WASHINGTON, DC.- The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art, and The George Washington University are jointly organizing art history courses, artist visits, post-doctoral fellowships, and an internship program, all at the Phillips’s Center for the Study of Modern Art and GW’s Foggy Bottom campus. These pooled resources, creativity, and expertise will enhance the capacity of the museum and university to offer a range of innovative, interdisciplinary learning opportunities for GW students and the public.

“In joining forces with The George Washington University, the Phillips gains as its valued partner D.C.’s largest institution of higher learning,” says Phillips Director Dorothy Kosinski. “The Phillips is thrilled to count such a well-respected and globally connected Washington institution among its creative collaborators.” Adds Klaus Ottmann, director of the Center for the Study of Modern Art and Phillips curator at large, “This exciting partnership further deepens the Center’s commitment to explore creative ideas in a variety of disciplines.”

The three-year partnership begins with a course titled, “The Performative Impulse in American Art,” taught by GW professor Virginia B. Spivey. Additionally, the first co-sponsored installment of the Phillips’s “Conversations with Artists” series features artists John Simon, Jr., Jim Sanborn, Mark Dion, Walid Raad, Matthew Ritchie, and Alice Aycock as they explore the theme, “Systems of Knowledge.” The artists will also visit the GW campus, where they will interact with students and faculty. In early 2011, the Phillips and GW will award two post-doctoral fellowships to support emerging scholars and facilitate teaching and research on modern and contemporary art.

"This new partnership with one of Washington's preeminent arts institutions creates exceptional teaching, internship, and research opportunities for George Washington students and faculty," said GW President Steven Knapp.

According to Peg Barratt, dean of GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS), the partnership will bring new learning opportunities within CCAS and the Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD). “It’s a level of collaboration that will add a whole new dimension of scholarship to our liberal arts programs, further enriching the learning environment of our students,” said Dean Barratt. Michael Feuer, GSEHD dean, echoed Barratt’s enthusiasm, and added that “this effort reflects our commitment to reinforcing the finest traditions of American education as a conduit of culture and knowledge.