WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will join the excitement of Spring Street this summer with a gallery and shop space at 76 Spring St.
WCMA Summer Space on Spring Street will temporarily replace the museum’s main galleries in Lawrence Hall, which will close from June 3 through Sept. 5 to undergo a series of renovations. The renovations include improving accessibility, public space and collection security, replacing and updating mechanical equipment, and updating staff work areas.
Pamela Franks, the Class of 1956 Director of WCMA, said she is excited about having a presence in the heart of downtown Williamstown during the busy summer tourist season.
“While we will miss being in beautiful Lawrence Hall for the summer, having a gallery right on Spring Street will let us continue to reach visitors and residents alike and share what WCMA has to offer,” she said.
WCMA Summer Space will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors will be able to lounge comfortably and sip a cold beverage while surrounded by works from the WALLS collection. WALLS, which stands for “Williams Art Loan for Living Spaces,” is a special collection of original artworks that go on loan to Williams students every semester. The collection comprises 127 pieces of art, including work by artists such as Francisco de Goya, Kiki Smith, Kitagawa Utamaro and Titus Kaphar.
“Our WALLS collection includes a wide range of artworks and offers a flavor of what WCMA is all about — mixing some classic pieces with very recent work by emerging artists and everything in between,” Franks said. “This exhibition highlights a signature program of the museum that gives students the chance to experience the joy of living with art.”
WCMA also will continue its popular summer series, Ologies, with Thursday evening programs and receptions at unique locations all around the Williams College campus. The program is scheduled to run weekly from July 11 through Aug. 15.
The main WCMA galleries in Lawrence Hall will reopen on Friday, Sept. 6, with an exciting lineup featuring Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A.,a critically acclaimed exhibition co-curated by Williams College Professor C. Ondine Chavoya.
Williams College Museum of Art
The Williams College Museum of Art makes dynamic art experiences to incite new thinking about art, museums, and the world. At the heart of the Williams College campus the museum draws on the collaborative and multidisciplinary ethos of the surrounding college to enliven the more than 15,000 works in its growing collection. The museum and its collection are a catalyst for student learning and community engagement. From June 3-Sept. 2, 2019, WCMA is open at WCMA Summer Space at 76 Spring St. daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. while its main galleries in Lawrence Hall are closed for renovations. WCMA is free and open to all. For more information, contact the museum at 413-597-2429 or visit wcma.williams.edu.