Farewell from Sarah Schroth

So many of you have sent messages of support to the Nasher Museum over the past few weeks. Thank you ever so much! The entire staff and I feel lucky to be in touch with many of you during this difficult time. As I prepare for retirement from Duke after 25 years, I am really sad I cannot say goodbye in person. I will miss working at the Nasher so much! However, I promise to come back and celebrate with everyone when it’s safe. Stay tuned for our rescheduled gala and new director celebration. I am looking forward, as I know you all are, to welcoming a new leader for the Nasher. A new chapter is soon to begin.

Meanwhile, please know we will notify you when it is safe to reopen. The Nasher is following Duke’s innovative and responsible leadership. Please see Duke’s helpful resource for updates at the link below.

coronavirus.duke.edu

While the museum is not open, our curators and educators are finding creative ways to support our communities. Here are some of my favorite examples:

• Dispatch from one of our classrooms
• Resources for families and teachers
• “Light in the Attic” is a deep dive into the “greatest hits” from the Nasher Museum’s archives. We’ve gathered special videos, articles and podcast episodes featuring artists who have visited the museum and whose work is part of our collection. One of my favorite gems (no surprise): Our award-winning TV commercial for El Greco to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III exhibition

The staff and I are deep in conversation about what museum life might look like after the pandemic. As you know, people need art during hard times. Digital art is not a substitute for the real thing! We all look forward to presenting and sharing impactful and meaningful art with you.

Duke University has always been incredibly supportive of the Nasher Museum. I want to share with you some important ways that Duke University is doing a great deal of good in the world:

• Duke is saving lives in its hospitals and clinics, and through the extraordinary preparation, skill, courage and commitment of its health care workers.
• Duke is discovering the treatments and cures in its laboratories, and helping to shape the policies that will restore our society, through the work of our faculty, staff and students.
• Duke is reinventing education and serving students in every state and around the world, supporting them through an unimaginably disruptive time and with a focus on preparing resilient leaders of tomorrow.
• Duke is anchoring our communities through a commitment to employees and their families.