Hey, Cola. Chloe here. I’ve always been a fan of the Columbia Museum of Art. I’ve gotten stuck in a daydream in the Salvador Dalí exhibition and have been stopped in my tracks on the Georgia O'Keeffe gallery tour (and, of course, had a beer or two at Arts & Draughts). But, I have to admit, the permanent collection was one of my least favorite components of the CMA. Parts of it felt stale and sort of inaccessible to me.

Apparently, a lot of people felt this way. So the CMA decided to make a radical change. As a public-serving nonprofit, they recognized the need to stay relevant to keep “art-lovers” engaged – while evolving and becoming more inclusive to attract “non-museum people.”

As part of their 18-month, $5 million renovation (funded by a five-year capital campaign + finished last August), they completely overhauled the permanent collection (now, just “The Collection”) by looking at commonalities in the art, I.D.-ing whose voices were missing where (that moment when you don’t see a woman or person of color until 5 rooms in) + did something no museum in the country had really done yet: reorganized their collection thematically.

Instead of being grouped together by time period (i.e. Renaissance), pieces are now grouped together by theme(i.e. heroism or vice and virtue) into 20 galleries with 21 themes. This allows viewers to see how different artists – across different eras + different continents – have focused on common ideas that span time, gender, race and circumstances.

Pieces from Gallery 5: Art and Identity by artists Sigmund Abeles (left), Michaela Pilar Brown (middle), Henri-François Riesener (right) What do these three pieces of art have in common? Keep reading to find out – and learn how you can win our giveaway for a CMA membership. Ⓟ

More alike than different 🎨

In Gallery 5: Art and Identity, which examines individual personality and status (pieces of which are pictured above), you’ll see an 18th-century portrait of two aristocratic women by a French painter next to a 2011 photo portrait of an African-American woman embellished with harsh plastic objects – a statement on black beauty standards + self-worth –by Columbia artist Michaela Pilar Brown.

Even the museum’s label committee met for 10 months to develop art labels that are more inclusive and speak to the theme in a relatable voice to viewers (a.k.a. *not* in a formal, curatorial voice that goes straight over our heads).

The results? People are slowing down. They’re spending more time looking at art and reading the labels to learn how they fit into a certain theme– instead of breezing through a room, thinking they’re just not into that genre. The whole experience is more playful + vibrant and tells the story of each piece in a more holistic way.

I think one of the coolest parts of this reformatting (and entirely fresh perspective for every. single. person. who will visit) is the fact that the CMA is at the forefront of this movement. The CMA says that other museums of its size are beginning to look at thematic organization.

Check out museum hours + membership info (since they’ve achieved the “slow down,” you may want to consider joining for unlimited visits for a whole year – plus other perks like discounts on ticketed events and free membership to 100+ other Southeastern museums).

About that giveaway 🎉

To celebrate this new museum experience, we’ve teamed up with the CMA to give away two memberships to the museum, each good for one year, including the following perks:

Free unlimited admission for one year
Discounts on concert tickets, classes, and lectures
Free admission to over 100 museums across the Southeast
Invitations to members-only events, including Exhibition Opening Parties
10% discount in the CMA Shop
Member magazine
20% discount on summer camps and art classes
More membership info here.

Enter to win by heading over to our Instagram postnow until Monday, where you’ll follow the rules of following our accounts + tagging a friend. We’ll pull the winner Monday morning. Good luck, friends. 🤞 Ⓟ