The Michael C. Carlos Museum will reopen its galleries and Ebrik Coffee Room to students, faculty and staff with an Emory ID on Aug. 19. The museum will be open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We’re delighted to welcome the Emory community back to the museum,” says director Bonnie Speed. “The Carlos is a resource for teaching and research for the entire campus, but we also recognize the museum can serve as place of comfort and respite, especially during times of stress and turmoil.”

“We’ve spent the summer collaborating with faculty who plan to utilize the museum’s collections in their courses this semester, so we know we’ll see students in the galleries again as part of their coursework,” Speed added. “We hope to see them, too, visiting the museum on their own to find refuge as well intellectual and creative stimulation.”

Campus opportunities to include art activities and gallery visits

Emory students are invited to take a break from their studies and participate in Student Studio, a monthly drop-in art-making activity, which will be held on Emory Quadrangle this semester to accommodate physical distancing requirements.

“When we first proposed Student Studio, we spoke with Counseling and Psychological Services, who affirmed that Emory students were reluctant to take study breaks, but that doing so is an essential part of maintaining good mental health,” says Elizabeth Hornor, Ingram Senior Director of Education. “We will provide outside artmaking opportunities for students ranging from Rangoli to raku.”

With fields of study as diverse as geology, religion, medicine, dance and art history taking advantage of the museum’s diverse offerings, students may also find themselves visiting the museum with their class for a physically distanced tour.

Faculty are asked to bring their classes in groups of five or fewer in order to accommodate physical distancing requirements and ensure an optimal viewing experience. To schedule a guided or self-guided tour, call Elizabeth Hornor at 404-727-6118.

Museum visitors, program participants and staff will follow Emory’s health and safety guidelines. 

Due to physical distancing recommendations, the Carlos Museum Bookshop will remain closed to multiple shoppers, but will offer in-person appointments to individual Emory students, faculty and staff wearing face coverings and able to present their ID. The bookshop’s popular mail order operation also will continue. To make an appointment to shop, email bookshop manager Mark Burell at mburell@emory.edu.

Ebrik Coffee Room, located on level three of the museum, will serve to-go options.

Virtual programming to offer familiar favorites plus two new series

This fall, the Carlos Museum’s popular programs such as AntiquiTEA, lectures by distinguished scholars as well as children’s workshops and even cooking classes will move online. Programs may be enjoyed live, but recordings will also be made available on the museum’s YouTube channel. 

Joining old favorites on the calendar will be two new sets of programs: a series of talks on objects relating to current issues such as social justice, race equality and climate change and a series of programs in honor of the recent reinstallation of the museum’s gallery of Native North American art.

While the gallery includes artwork from various regions, programming this fall will focus on Native American art and culture of the Southeast. Highlights will include:

• Jace Weaver, Franklin Professor of Native American Studies and Director of the Institute of Native American Studies at the University of Georgia, will examine the enduring legacy of Cherokee art, focusing especially on masks and basketry (Sept. 10).
• Claudio Saunt, also of the University of Georgia, will discuss his new book “Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory” (Oct. 8).
• In conjunction with the Decatur Book Festival, the museum will present a reading of Mary Kathryn Nagle’s “Sovereignty,” a play with parallel timelines that focus on land rights and the Cherokee Nation, including the Treaty of New Echota (date to be determined).

New version of Carlos Collections Online improves accessibility to artwork

Thanks to a completely redesigned version of Carlos Collections Online, the museum’s online catalogue, accessing artwork has never been easier.

“This improved database will help us share our collections with students, scholars and art lovers nationally as well as internationally. It will also make a significant impact on teaching and research here at Emory,” says Speed. 

Substantially updated content includes nearly 9,000 images of more than 3,500 objects from the museum's collections, most of which appear for the first time; information about objects such as provenance and links to related podcasts and videos; photos of more than 50 exhibitions; biographical content for artists whose works appear in the Carlos collection; and easy sharing to Canvas and social media platforms. Notes on technical research and analysis conducted on objects by the Parsons Conservation Laboratory are currently being added to the catalogue. 

“We’re proud to be able to share research from our conservation lab,” Speed says. “This material includes contributions from Emory students who intern and volunteer in the lab as well as interdepartmental collaborations.”  

Visit carlos.emory.edu/carlosforward for more information about the museum’s reopening.