Issue No. 36 / COVID Edition 2020 Issue No
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Issue No. 36 / COVID Edition 2020 Issue No. 36 / COVID Edition 2020 Dear Members, Contents I hope you are safe and well in these strange times. Without question, 3 President’s Letter the COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge to face The Corning 4 Remembering Victor Museum of Glass since the waters of the Chemung River escaped their 6 Opening Our Doors embankment in the flood of 1972. From March 16 through the end of 9 Staying Connected June, our beloved Museum remained shuttered to visitors and staff 12 Now On View alike. Like other museums, cultural institutions, and businesses the 14 Membership world over, we have navigated our way to a new ‘normal’ even as the 16 Museum News landscape continues to shift beneath our feet. I’m proud to say that our 18 Objects in Focus Museum staff has faced every challenge with resilience and imagination. 24 Donor Profile 25 Ennion Listing During closure, we discovered our capacity to pursue excellence in new 26 Response to BLM ways, developing fresh digital programming and outreach to connect 27 Equity Statement people virtually through glass—all achieved while working from home. Writing and Editing But we missed our members and our museum—and in alignment with Ann Campbell New York State guidelines, we reimagined every inch of our facility, Joy Epting operations, and offerings, and readied for welcoming guests once again Jon Heath to the Museum, with new protocols in place to ensure the safety and Kevin Reynolds Susie J. Silbert health of all on our campus. Kimberly Thompson On July 1, we reopened to the public, and I’m pleased to report we Art Director Stephanie Carr have provided a joyful distraction to over 30,000 visitors since then. Under the guidance of Penguin Pierre, our informal mascot and safety Photography guide, our guests have found within our walls a safe place to visit with Jeffrey Foote families and friends. Our Museum once again is humming with guests Amanda Sterling Kimberly Thompson discovering the magic of glass, and I am delighted to introduce several Christopher Walters engaging new installations on view: Dish it: Corelle at 50, Transparent: Matt Wittmeyer voting in America, and the newly reinstalled Contemporary Art + Additional imagery by Museum Design Galleries. Photography Department or as noted. Copyright © 2020 The Corning As you browse this issue, please join with me in celebrating the Museum of Glass, Corning, NY resilience of our Museum staff, and of their collective dedication to our shared vision and mission to inspire people to see glass in a new light. Issue No. 36 / Summer 2020 Karol B. Wight, Ph.D. President and Executive Director Left: Guests enjoy the reinstalled Contemporary Art + Design Galleries, post-COVID reopening. Gather magazine is published two Inset, left: Guests return to the Museum after the Flood of 1972. times annually for Members of The Corning Museum of Glass. For more information about health and safety protocols at the Museum, go to visit.cmog.org/safety. Cover: Art appreciation in the COVID era; Jeannet Iskandar, “Between Fragment and Whole, Sphere.” Photo by Amanda Sterling. 2 3 Victor Nemard joined the Museum in 1996 and began Shelley Peterson, merchandise team manager for his career as a buyer for the Museum Shops (then The Shops, and Victor’s right hand: Remembering Victor the Glass Market), before taking the reins as Senior “Victor set the standard for how to be an exceptional Manager, a post he held for more than 20 years. leader, mentor, and friend. He made us want to be better, to do more, and to challenge ourselves to During his tenure, Victor oversaw two major achieve greatness.” renovations. Most recently in 2015–2016, the redesign and renaming of The Shops in conjunction with the Karol Wight, president and executive director: opening of the new Contemporary Art + Design “Victor was one of the people I first met when I Galleries, creating the world-class retail experience arrived at the Museum in 2011. The Shops was so we know and love today. amazing that I wanted to meet the person responsible for the fabulous merchandise displays and selection of Victor’s presence was felt in every small detail items for sale. I really loved his taste!” within The Shops, from the seasonal bouquets and decorations to the visionary strategy that makes The Meghan Bunnell, buyer, The Shops: Shops unique. If you were lucky, in the day, you might “When it comes to bosses Victor was the best boss I have found Victor slowly walking the aisles, his hands could ask for. He was kind, thoughtful, stylish, and his clasped behind his back, carefully examining the team was the priority.” displays, the positioning of a piece of glass and the way the light fell on it, or the way a glass-beaded Brittany Hughes, The Shops: scarf was draped across a hanger. He was a quiet, “Victor Nemard; a great man, boss, and mentor. He ever-smiling presence and if you found him ruminating was the backbone of our retail family. He meant the in this way, he was always one to stop and talk and world to so many and made a positive impact on ask you how you were. every path he crossed.” To his dedicated staff, he was a role model, a pillar of Amy Schwartz, director of The Studio: sound advice, and a quiet but commanding presence “I happened to talk to Victor on his last day of work. who went about his business with confidence. He was I’m delighted to tell you that he was very happy and always impeccably dressed, stylish in many senses of there was something magical in our last connection. the word. He was someone you wanted to have lunch He was bright and joyful and we laughed.” with, for it was in these smaller circles that you really felt his personality come alive. He seemed to feel more at home around the small lunch tables of the For more testimonials from our staff, visit break room where he could chat and laugh with his blog.cmog.org and search for Victor. team than he did the large board room. It is truly heartbreaking to realize this loss in our Museum’s community. Victor felt a deep loyalty to this Museum for which we will always be grateful. The flag at the Museum was flown at half-mast in Victor’s honor, and his name will be inscribed in the memorial bench located outside the Rakow Library. Victor worked closely with so many across the Museum, and several of his close friends and colleagues have shared a memory of their time working with him. Above: The Shops at The Corning Museum of Glass, Victor’s domain. The Corning Museum of Glass has lost one of its warmest, kindest smiles. It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our own Victor Alexander Nemard, who died suddenly on March 17, 2020. He was 61. 4 5 Safety Enhanced, Pierre Approved Like every museum, we were faced with the challenge of communicating a wide range of new safety measures to our visitors. Luckily for us, in a sea of grey, our solution was black and white: a glass penguin! “Penguin Pierre” had become a social media star during closure, as we shared photos of his adventures around the empty museum. Promoted to “Safety Guide,” Pierre now greets visitors in the Admissions Lobby—mask and all! Pierre appears on signage across the Museum, alerting visitors to new guidelines and encouraging them to maintain a “safe social wingspan.” “Pierre symbolizes a ‘safe space,’” said Duane. “During our closure, he offered levity and smiles in unsettling circumstances. Now that people are visiting us once again, having Pierre deliver our messages about masks and temperature checks brings a lighthearted approach to heavy subjects and helps families feel more at ease.” ED. PIE NC RR A E Things to See and Do H A N P E P R Y The Contemporary Art + Design Galleries are O T V E light-filled, open, and airy—perfect for social F E D A S . distancing, and with air filtration quality just below surgical grade that allows guests to breathe easy. The Museum’s daily capacity cap ensures occupancy remains well below New York State’s requirement of 25%, so visitors have plenty of room to spread out. Every visit to the Museum now begins with a timed ticket purchased online. This allows us to stagger arrivals and ensures that we don’t have too many people in areas at once. Opening Our Doors A highlight of any visit to The Corning Museum of Glass is watching a live Hot Glass Demo. Although capacity is considerably reduced, the number of demonstrations offered has increased, ensuring On Wednesday, July 1, the Museum “We are thrilled to be welcoming everyone can still see molten glass shaped into dazzling objects before their eyes. opened its doors after being closed visitors once again,” said Beth Duane, to the public for 106 days. Although chief marketing and communications Of course, blowing glass in the age of COVID-19 many changes were made to ensure officer. “At the forefront of our minds wasn’t as easy as heating the furnaces back up. safe visits in the age of COVID-19, is the health and safety of all who Left: The reinstalled History and Material Gallery of the Contemporary “Glassblowing comes with some unique challenges— Museum teams worked hard to are on the Museum’s campus, and we Art + Design Galleries provides guests wide open spaces and excellent the primary one being right in the name.