'Agents of Care: The Lives of Objects'

Artworks in a museum’s care can lead exciting and sometimes unexpected lives.

From the maker(s), artworks then travel through time and across the world. Even after they enter the museum’s collection some still travel, loaned to other museums for exhibitions. Sometimes we know much about the history of a work and sometimes we know very little. And, like people, artwork ages over time, requiring care and conservation to ensure it lives on for future generations.

Agents of Care: A Collections Transparency Project kicks off with an exploration of the storied and sometimes complicated lives of objects. Included in our investigation are several works from the collection that will soon be loaned for exhibitions at other museums including "Portrait of Miss Elsie Palmer", or "A Lady in White" by John Singer Sargent and Dark Iris No.1 by Georgia O’Keeffe.

We will also explore various textiles from our Southwest collection and many of our flat works of art.

Objects on View
August 18–Sept. 12: Portrait of Miss Elsie Palmer, or A Lady in White by John Singer Sargent
Sept. 13–29: Dark Iris No.1 by Georgia O’Keeffe
Oct. 2–20: Various textiles from the Southwest collection

Museum staff will be present in the Agents of Care space on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 1-3 p.m. to interact with visitors.

More About Agents of Care: A Collections Transparency Project
The Fine Arts Center is transforming 1,500 square feet of gallery into a space designed to highlight the often unseen, behind-the-scenes collections-based work of the museum. Guests can engage with visible storage that house objects under our care, as well as artworks used for college coursework and other research projects. Talk with the museum team as they work on a series of projects including conservation, the physical care and storage of items, stewardship of cultural items including NAGPRA initiatives (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act), data management, digitization, collection-based research, and other topics.

This initiative, the first of its kind for the FAC, will radically increase access to the collection for Colorado College faculty, students, and the broader public. Through an ever-rotating series of presentations and programs—including hands-on workshops—Agents of Care provides a platform for critical conversations about museum practice while making transparent the Fine Arts Center Museum’s ongoing effort to enhance its stewardship of over 17,000 works.

Agents of Care: A Collections Transparency Project is supported by the Catharine and Bart Holaday Endowment for Interactive Art.