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Visitors Find Free Admission, New Art and Café on September 9

The Nasher Museum will reopen to the public on September 9 with new health and safety protocols, free admission for all and a contemporary exhibition featuring works of art that are new to the collection. The Nasher Museum Café will reopen with a refreshed menu and outdoor dining, subject to university and local guidance in effect at the time.

Museum hours will be limited temporarily this fall: Tuesday through Friday, 10 AM to 5 PM. Reservations are not required. Face masks are required at all times for all visitors.

We are thrilled to welcome everyone into the museum again. We are very proud of Duke’s expert handling of a major public health crisis for the past 18 months. Now it’s time to safely share our collection with our community, in person once again.

Trevor Schoonmaker, Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans Director of the Nasher Museum
Peter Williams, Special K (Kaepernick Standing), 2018. Oil and graphite on canvas, 50 × 40 inches (127 × 101.6 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum. Gift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York. © Peter Williams. Image courtesy of Luis De Jesus gallery, Los Angeles.
Peter Williams, Special K (Kaepernick Standing), 2018. Oil and graphite on canvas, 50 × 40 inches (127 × 101.6 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Gift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York. © Peter Williams. Courtesy of the artist and Luis De Jesus Los Angeles. This work is part of the exhibition In Relation to Power.

A new exhibition, In Relation to Power: Politically Engaged Works from the Collection, focuses on ways that artists comment on, and often vehemently resist, the dynamics of inequitable systems of power. The show includes more than 80 works by 57 artists, including works on paper, paintings, sculpture, photography and video. Many works are on view at the Nasher for the first time.

“Our team has thoughtfully been building a diverse collection and has organized this exhibition that speaks to the social and political issues of our time.” Schoonmaker said. “I hope visitors will enjoy a meaningful engagement with the art and the ideas that they present.”

A second exhibition, Off the Map: The Provenance of a Painting, will open Sept. 23. This intimate show in the Incubator Gallery provides a case study of a single work in the Nasher Museum’s collection: Portrait of an Artist, attributed to Joseph Wright of Derby and bequested to the Nasher by Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans. From England to Berlin, New York to Durham, the 18th-century painting has journeyed far and seen numerous owners, auctions houses and exhibitions since its creation 250 years ago.

On January 13, 2022, the Nasher Museum will present Reckoning and Resilience: North Carolina Art Now, a group survey of work that gives an expansive view of contemporary art in North Carolina, both in terms of regional geography and artistic approaches.

Special Preview for Duke Community

Members of the Duke Community are invited to visit for special preview hours. Registration is not required for Duke faculty, students and staff during restricted hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10 AM to 5 PM.

Let’s Stay Safe Together

We strongly encourage all individuals to be fully vaccinated before visiting the Duke campus. The Nasher will adhere to all university, local and state regulations, which are subject to change on short notice depending on public health conditions. Specific health and safety information will be available on the Duke United website.

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