The Ackland Art Museum is turning 60 years old Thursday.

The museum is starting a yearlong celebration in recognition of the honor.

“This is the birthday present; it is opening; there is a bow, and it expresses our spirit of enjoyment of this moment, celebration, but also surprise,” deputy director for Curatorial Affairs at the Ackland Peter Nisbet said Wednesday when describing a large gift box at the center of a section the museum’s gallery space. Nesbit walked reporters through the space at a media preview of the Birthday Presents exhibit.

Nisbet said that he had spent the last year seeking out specific pieces to include in the celebration of the museum’s birthday: 60 pieces for its 60th birthday.

“You will see in this area an extraordinary range of media,” Nisbet said of the space. “There’s painting; there’s sculpture; there are prints; there’s video; there’s electronic art.”

Unidentified artist, South African, Mfengu peoples: Collar, early 20th century; glass beads, fiber, leather, and mother-of-pearl buttons, 14 in. long (35.6 cm). Ackland Art Museum, Gift of Norma Canelas Roth and William Roth in honor of the Museum’s 60th Anniversary, 2017.17.
Unidentified artist, South African, Mfengu peoples: Collar, early 20th century; glass beads, fiber, leather, and mother-of-pearl buttons, 14 in. long (35.6 cm). Ackland Art Museum, Gift of Norma Canelas Roth and William Roth in honor of the Museum’s 60th Anniversary, 2017.17.
Etel Adnan, Lebanese-American, born 1925: Untitled 2017; oil on canvas: 21 5/8 x 18 1/8 in. (55 x 46 cm). Ackland Art Museum, Promised Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Leroy Townsend III in honor of the Museum’s 60th Anniversary. Copyright of the Artist; Courtesy of Galerie Lelong &Co.
Etel Adnan, Lebanese-American, born 1925: Untitled 2017; oil on canvas: 21 5/8 x 18 1/8 in. (55 x 46 cm). Ackland Art Museum, Promised Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Leroy Townsend III in honor of the Museum’s 60th Anniversary. Copyright of the Artist; Courtesy of Galerie Lelong &Co.
Unidentified artist, Cambodian, Khmer period (802 – 1431 CE), style of Baphuon: Torso, 11th century: sandstone, 18 1/2 x 9 1/16 x 4 5/8 in. (47 x 23 x 11.7 cm). Ackland Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ruth and Sherman Lee in honor of the Museum’s 60th Anniversary, 2017.38.
Unidentified artist, Cambodian, Khmer period (802 – 1431 CE), style of Baphuon: Torso, 11th century: sandstone, 18 1/2 x 9 1/16 x 4 5/8 in. (47 x 23 x 11.7 cm). Ackland Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ruth and Sherman Lee in honor of the Museum’s 60th Anniversary, 2017.38.

Nisbet touted the diversity of the Birthday Presents exhibit, which was a thought echoed by director of the Ackland Art Museum Katie Ziglar.

“We have a very diverse collection,” Ziglar said, “and we want to keep it that way.”

She added the museum was focusing on expanding the museum’s base to include more African and Islamic art.

“It’s really about what our DNA is made of and who we are.”

Ziglar said she felt the Birthday Presents exhibit was a good example of using a milestone at the museum to further its mission.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to come up with something that is going to be a good thing to share with the public,” she said, “that is going to get them excited.”

But the idea of asking for gifts for the museum’s birthday was “brilliantly inspired,” Ziglar said, adding she is “very excited about how it’s turned out.”

Nisbet said curating this exhibit fueled his desire to add to the Ackland’s reach.

“It’s not just there’s something for everyone,” he said, “but I do think it speaks to the Ackland’s identity and potential.”

He added his thanks to the donors who had gifted the pieces that will be displayed.

“This is a great haul, if I can use that word,” Nisbet said. “And it makes me hungry for more. There are things I can see we don’t have here that I would love to have.”

The Birthday Presents exhibit is scheduled to run from September 21 through January 6.

But the yearlong 60th anniversary celebration includes the Ackland reopening “a dedicated museum space for students and the Chapel Hill community to connect with each other while creating and experiencing art,” according to museum officials, which will also open on Friday.

Residents may also see a 250-pound, 15-foot diameter inflatable red ball around the university campus and Chapel Hill over the next week, which is a long-running exhibit that has been featured around the world.

Photo via Blake Hodge

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