Written by Nicholas Pinto

Published on October 2, 2015

Birthdays are always special occasions, and for HCC it is no different.

The Housatonic Museum of Art is currently running a special exhibit to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the museum. Named “50 Objects/50 Years,” the exhibit is to display items in the school’s collection gathered over the last 50 years. According to an internal memo and promotional material, works featured will include pieces from antiquity all the way to the contemporary era.

Many cultures are represented in the exhibit, including Greek and Roman earthen wares dated between the 5th and 3rd century BCE, an African Poro altar from between the 19th and 20th century CE, a bronze sculpture of Shiva Nataraja from India dated to between the 13th and 14th century CE, and many avant-garde and postmodern works by contemporary artists.

The exhibit is free to the public and runs from September 10 through October 16 in the Burt Chernow Galleries, located in A112 in the Lafayette building. The Galleries are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5: 30 p.m., running until 7 p.m. on Thursdays, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

Burt Chernow, once an art professor at HCC who passed away in 1997, began the collection at HCC after he joined the faculty. His extraordinary effort in finding works, including from then-budding artists, has given us this opportunity to immerse ourselves in the arts and connect with cultures from around the world.

The Museum of Art at HCC contains over 5000 works of art spanning all eras of history and boasts one of the largest collections of all two-year colleges in the Northeast. Robbin Zella is the current director of the museum.

Come see a glimpse of our college’s amazing history, and gain a memorable experience!