There are just a handful of cultural and educational institutions that unite the five counties of the Mid-Shore of Maryland. Those that come to mind immediately are such legendary schools as Washington College, UM’s Horn Point Labs, and Chesapeake College as well as those that celebrate our cultural heritage like the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and the Sultana Educational Foundation.
But there is only one organization that has been successfully uniting the region’s centuries-old love affair with fine arts, and that would be the Academy Art Museum. And that remarkable center for art education and exhibitions hits an impressive milestone this year as it reaches its 60th year of existence and there is good reason to celebrate that fact.
Founded by local artists and collectors, the Academy has grown from relatively modest roots to a superb example of what a regional arts institution powerhouse can be. Now with literally hundreds of classes, lectures, field trips, and, of course, world-class art exhibitions taking place every year, the AAM has rapidly becoming known nationally as the “small but mighty” art center.
When any institution of this caliber reaches 60 years, it is almost mandated that it take stock of its accomplishments to share with its members, donors, and the general public, what it has been able to achieve since it opened its doors. That it indeed the case with the Academy this year as it offers special programming and art exhibitions to celebrate this remarkable achievement.
It also was an excellent time to review the museum’s permanent collection with the intention of showcasing the very best of the best for visitors to enjoy the extraordinary diversity of visual art, sculpture and photography the AAM has secured through the generous donations of art collectors, many of them local, or through the wise and selective use of their modest annual acquisition funds.
The Spy sat down with AAM director Ben Simons and chief curator Anke Van Wagenberg this week to talk about the museum’s artwork and the difficult task of selecting 120 of the most significant examples from a total of 1,500 works which will be shown in two major exhibitions during the year.
This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the Academy Art Museum’s Diamond Exhibition Project please go here
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