Fairfield University Art Museum – a Gem on Campus and in the Community:
An Interview with Carey Mack Weber
The Fairfield University Art Museum, as described by its Executive Director Carey Weber, is “a lovely, intimate space” that can be enjoyed by all who visit. It additionally serves as a teaching tool for University students, especially those studying Art History and Studio Art, and K-12 students who come on in-person and virtual field trips. “It is accessible and we aren’t afraid to try new things” said Weber.
Carey Mack Weber came to Fairfield University after spending time as the director in two well-known New York City fine art galleries – Susan Sheehan and Edward Taylor Nahem. Her specialization is in American Contemporary Art, which is very different from her predecessors at the Museum, whose focuses were Italian Baroque and Italian Renaissance. Her specialization has paved the way for thought provoking art that continues to be the focus of many exhibits on campus. When she first arrived at Fairfield University, Weber worked in the Art History department where she was tasked with helping the faculty transition from images on slides to digital images. When the museum project was in the initial developmental stages well over a decade ago, she became very involved in the process. When it opened, Weber and the first director solely ran the day-to-day, but by summer 2022, there will be four full-time staff dedicated to its operations. She has seen the progress and evolution of the museum through numerous curated exhibits and special programming. In January 2019, Weber was appointed the third Frank and Clara Meditz Executive Director of the Fairfield University Art Museum.
This past fall, three artists were featured as a part of an exhibition across both galleries – Bellarmine Hall and Walsh—that was two to three years in the making and there is something about the phrase timing is everything that speaks truth to this exhibition. Weber stated that “it is unusual to have three exhibitions in two galleries, but it was important to show all of this work at the same time - it was thought provoking, colorful/uplifting, and documented protests in a celebratory way.” The exhibition, which took place from September through December of 2021, included the following artists – Carrie Mae Weems, Roberto Lugo, and Robert Gerhardt. While their art is unique in their own right, the works in the exhibition complimented each other to collectively allow open discussions to take place on campus that centered on social justice issues that were currently plaguing our society. Weber stated, “we felt very lucky to have had already been thinking about what kind of exhibitions we wanted to bring to the campus. It worked so well with what the campus needed, in our opinion (as the Fairfield University Art Museum staff), what the campus needed to be seeing at this time – we were very pleased.”
To view information on the exhibition and each of the artists, please visit the links below:
Carrie Mae Weems: The Unusual Suspects – www.fairfield.edu/museum/carriemaeweems
Roberto Lugo: New Ceramics – www.fairfield.edu/museum/robertolugo
Robert Gerhardt: Mic Check – www.fairfield.edu/museum/robertgerhardt
Recently, the museum celebrated a milestone - its tenth anniversary. Weber spoke about its foundational collection which is “Italian Renaissance and Baroque – the space was built for those paintings.” She is looking to expand the collection and acquire new works that “build a collection that people will want to come back and see again. It’s a teaching collection that faculty can use to teach across disciplines, particularly art history and studio art, but and we want works in all media and from all periods.” She added, “Most recently, we are trying to diversify the collection. We started a Black art fund to remedy that a bit.”
Throughout the ten year period, there have been numerous exhibitions and programs that Weber has been involved in bringing to the campus. During 2021, the museum had over 12,000 virtual visitors who tuned into 60 different programs. This is largely in part due to different resources the museum was able to take advantage of during the pandemic – such as utilizing Zoom, the Quick Live platform, and working in conjunction with the University’s Media Center to create film tours of the current exhibits for visitors to view online amid the shutdown caused by the pandemic. Two exhibits, in particular have been Weber’s favorite. The first being, Birds of the Northeast: Gulls to Great Auks. She curated this show and stated at the time since it was on display during COVID that it was “all virtual, visitors were able to take a virtual tour, a video tour, an audio tour, and you could even read the catalog online!” Over 2,000 individuals took advantage of this exhibit and virtual offerings, which Weber was proud to mention. The second exhibit was The Holy Name, Art of the Gesù: Bernini and his Age. Weber stated, “it was the most ambitious and most costly exhibition they have ever done and probably will ever do.” She added that “it was a team effort done in honor of the 75th anniversary of the University.” Six of the pieces that were featured in the exhibition came directly from Church of the Gesù in Rome, and they were joined by loans from major museums from across the country. Weber commented that “one piece they received was a Bernini bust of Roberto Bellarmino, the patron saint of Fairfield University, which was pretty spectacular.” She added that “over 8,000 people from around the world attended the exhibition on campus.”
There are numerous special exhibitions and events that take place at the Fairfield University Art Museum and the full calendar can be viewed here! Some key events this upcoming spring include:
Lecture: Collecting Black Art
Halima Taha, Curator of the museum’s exhibition Adger Cowans: Sense and Sensibility, will present a lecture on collecting Black art, in conjunction with the exhibition currently on view in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries
Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Opening Night Lecture and Reception for 13 Ways of Looking at Landscape: Larry Silver’s CT Photographs
Date: Thursday, March 24, 2022
Lecture: The Illustrious Career of Adger Cowans
Deborah Willis, PhD joins photographer Adger Cowans to discuss the artist’s work, in a conversation moderated by Halima Taha, curator of Adger Cowans: Sense and Sensibility. The conversation will be followed by a wine and cheese reception from 6-7:30 p.m.
Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2022
In Conversation – Adger Cowans and Larry Silver
Join us for an animated conversation between guest curators Halima Taha and Leslie K. Brown, PhD and photographers Adger Cowans and Larry Silver.
Date: Wednesday, April 20
The Fairfield University Art Museum is located at 1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield. Both galleries, Bellarmine Hall and Walsh, are open Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. till 4 p.m. Admission to both galleries is free to the public. For more information, please visit their site.