#Museumfromhome

ASU Art Museum has always been more than a building to showcase art. 

In addition to presenting contemporary art in all media by regional and international, emerging and established artists, the museum also aims to be a cultural commons in a rapidly changing cultural and political landscape and to be a new model for a different and more relevant kind of museum — expanding and deepening the ways in which all people experience and value the visual arts in their own lives.

When the ASU Art Museum, part of the Herberger Institute, temporarily closed its doors in the wake of COVID-19, museum director Miki Garcia welcomed the call to rethink the role of the museum and engagement with the community.

“From the beginning of our hiatus, we quickly pivoted and asked ourselves: How do we embrace new methodologies within the digital world, and make authentic connections through art and storytelling in the cultural climate in which we find ourselves?” Garcia said.

The museum found innovative ways to virtually connect with audiences and share exciting art experiences that bring solace, connection and inspiration. With its #musuemfromhome campaign, ASU Art Museum posted daily on social media channels to make the collection and educational programming available remotely, with a behind-the-scenes look at exhibitions, at-home activities, monthly virtual programs and more.

Cole said that artists across the United States are leading social and policy adaptation in response to COVID-19 as well as leading change for social good, including prototyping new models of personal protective equipment with maker communities, radically rethinking music, dance and theater, and working in alignment with public health leaders to reimagine public communication for social distancing.

“We hope this site can be an entryway into this new way of thinking about how artists and designers are responding to the urgent needs of our country and our communities right now,” Cole said.

From podcasts exploring the effect of creative placemaking on Arizona communities, to a series of lively conversations with creatives conducted by Institute Professor Daniel Bernard Roumain, to online art talks and crafting activities hosted by the ASU Art Museum, Cultural Innovation Tools is designed to serve a wide range of people looking for more engagement with design and the arts.

The site features free resources, a toolkit originally created for area assisted-living leaders to coordinate educational programs virtually, and additional resources such as podcasts, concerts and videos, plus online modules from Institute Professors Liz Lerman and Michael Rohd and Evelyn Smith Professor Stephani Etheridge Woodson.

Lerman, a dancer, choreographer and MacArthur “genius grant” recipient, is interested in user feedback on the digital version of her “Atlas of Creative Tools” class, which she aims to grow into a “digital commons.” The Atlas of Creative Tools is a collection of artistic tools that Lerman has noted and gathered throughout her many years of practice, in addition to tools she’s learned or come across through work with collaborators.

“I am hoping that this edition of the Atlas of Creative Tools aids those suddenly teaching online, either with its content or its structure,” she said. “There’s a special ‘perspectives’ section, which highlights the way the tools can be used by dancers of different genres, people of different ages, and folks from various disciplines.”

Rohd, a theater artist who works at the intersection of community change and creative work, said his course on expanding civic practice is aimed at supporting the capacity of anyone in arts/culture/design/heritage and municipal government, public health and community development in the work of cross-sector collaboration.

“I think at this moment, paying particular attention to equitable partnership practice and truly responsive recovery efforts is an urgent need,” Rohd said. “This course can really help in areas of project development, process design and relationship-building.”

In addition to launching the Cultural Innovation Tools, the National Accelerator for Cultural Innovation has partnered with the Arizona Commission on the Arts to provide local artists and cultural organizations with peer-to-peer support navigating stimulus resources to support employment and small business cohesion.