The Beginning of a New Beginning

We recently marked a very special occasion...the staff of the Addison came together for a move meeting. It was not our first move meeting, we've had many of those over the last few years. What made this one special was that it was the first move meeting that concentrated on the move BACK into the museum. It marked the beginning of a new beginning for the Addison Gallery.

We have a date tentatively set for our grand reopening to the public. It's not something I can announce here just yet, but it's about a year from now, assuming construction on the addition and renovation continues at its current pace. The move back into the museum will begin months ahead of our reopening date. We have to move all our "stuff" back in first: office furniture, books, tools, supplies, archives, files, and, of course, the staff. Then, lastly, and certainly not least, the artwork, including the reinstallation of our Manship fountain in the rotunda.

Added to this is reinstalling artwork on each freshly painted wall of every exhibition gallery in the museum. Plans call for us to open with a grand show comprised completely of our permanent collection, and the Curators are hard at work organizing that now. At certain times of day, you can find the Curators huddled over hundreds of collection images printed out on individual sheets of paper, trying to lay out the order of objects in the galleries in their minds. It has been a challenge for them to do this without reference; the collection is either packed and off site or touring in our Coming of Age exhibition and the galleries are off limits.

At our move meeting, we figured that the move in will be different, but no less challenging, than the move out, and that's why we're already starting to plan for it. And it will all be worth it when we finally welcome our first visitors through our renovated front doors around this time next year!

(Images are from a tour given to students from Phillips Academy's Architecture Class. Click the images to make them larger. Note the rotunda is without the Manship fountain.)


James M. Sousa
Associate Registrar for Collections and Archives

Shopping with OneCause: an Easy and Innovative Way to Help the Addison

Today we hear from new Blog Addison poster Samantha Katzen, Development Associate at the Addison. Samantha also works on the Addison's Facebook page, and encourages everyone to click here and become a fan.

"In these economic times…" How often have you heard that phrase lately? Fiscal prudence is important, but sometimes most of us still need (or want) to make certain purchases. Yet we also want to stretch our dollar and make every transaction count. If only there was a way for our everyday spending to be more productive!

Well, there is. Thanks to the wonders of online shopping and the internet’s capacity to merge capitalism and altruism, using OneCause can indeed make your purchases count twice. With virtually no effort on your part, you can help the Addison just by buying the things you were already going to buy, at no extra cost to you. To get started, all you need to do is register at http://www.onecause.com/ and choose a cause to support (like, say, the Addison!). Then simply click the links to hundreds of popular stores like Amazon or Lands’ End, and shop as you normally would. A percentage of your total purchase is donated directly to the Addison and the process requires no extra steps on your part. You can also download a toolbar that allows you to go right to your online shopping sites without using the OneCause portal.

This is an easy and uncomplicated way to enhance the efficacy of your spending. Just think, if you booked a trip at Expedia by first going to http://www.onecause.com/, your cause would earn 1.25% of what you spend. For one $2,500 family vacation, that would mean over $30! It’s perfect for large purchases, like a new computer from Dell or the Apple store, but even small items add up—combine your $25 at drugstore.com with your friend’s $50 on eBay, and before long you collectively start to make a real difference.

On behalf the Addison, I hope you’ll consider using OneCause when you shop online. It’s easy, it’s free for you and free for the museum, and it lets you get the most out of every penny spent. What could be better, especially in these economic times?

Shop Now to Support
Addison Gallery of American Art

Samantha Katzen
Development Associate

You're invited - New Deal Photography at the Addison

Please join us on May 7th at 6:30pm in the School Room in Abbot Hall for New Deal Photography at the Addison Gallery, a program presented by the Addison Gallery of American Art and Andover Reads, an initiative from Andover's Memorial Hall Library.

Presenting a selection of original 1930s social documentary images from the Addison’s collection by some of the most well-known New Deal photographers such as Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Russell Lee, and others, Addison Gallery of American Art’s Curator of Photography Allison Kemmerer and Director of Education Julie Bernson will explore the photograph’s multiple roles as historical document, persuasive tool, and work of art.

Program Location: Addison Gallery of American Art, Temporary Location, Abbot Hall, School Street, Phillips Academy (Click here to download a PDF with directions and a map.)

To register, contact Anna Gesing, 978-749-4023 or agesing@andover.edu.

Image: Arthur Rothstein, Father and Son in a Dust Storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936, gelatin silver print, museum purchase, Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA.