Getting In Touch

FSRAM opens new hands-on gallery

Courtesy Photos The new Touch Gallery at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum includes "a broad array of items," from a textured painting to a wooden parrot, a detailed bust of young Franklin D. Roosevelt and more. It is intended to appeal to all ages.
Courtesy Photos The new Touch Gallery at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum includes "a broad array of items," from a textured painting to a wooden parrot, a detailed bust of young Franklin D. Roosevelt and more. It is intended to appeal to all ages.

When Louis Meluso came to the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum Nov. 1 as its executive director, his first task was gathering artwork for an exhibit remembering John Bell Jr.

Many of the 65 pieces in the exhibit were loaned by private collectors in Fort Smith, "so it was a matter of me doing the shoe leather work and going around to all these homes and businesses and the courthouse," Meluso says. "It was a wonderful introduction to the town."

FAQ

‘Touch Gallery’

WHEN — 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday

WHERE — Fort Smith Regional Art Museum

COST — Free

INFO — 784-2787

FYI

FSRAM

in Top 25

The Fort Smith Regional Art Museum is also celebrating its selection as one of 2018’s Best Art Museums of America, so designated by American Art Awards board. Each year, 25 best galleries and museums are selected, and this year, FSRAM was named “Top Art Museum of Arkansas.”

“We consider thousands of the most established art venues from Alaska to Florida,” reads a statement from the organization, which also honors 300 artists every year. “This year we chose several museums and art centers with historical significance of 100-plus years, some with over 100,000 annual visitors, some specializing in global acquisitions, some American treasures, others offering objects preserving their state’s legacy, and some celebrating one specific artist’s life work. A Native-American and an African-American facility are included in our Top 25, as well as a long-standing women’s design institution, a popular Boston sculptor’s co-op, and a Hollywood Warhol hot spot.”

Now, Meluso has gone to his own collection to fill the museum's newest space, which he has titled the "Touch Gallery."

"The inspiration for the Touch Gallery came from a discussion I had with the education staff at the Art Institute of Chicago, where I worked before coming to RAM," he says. "They have a few sculptures there for visitors to touch -- though they don't call it a 'touch' gallery -- and my discussion with them helped me understand the power of our sense of touch in understanding how art is made, the materials used in making it and the artistic intent in its creation."

"The staff here at RAM are always looking for ways to relate to our guests, and when our guests talk, we listen," adds Melissa Conry, marketing coordinator for the museum. "It had come to our attention sometime last year that a lot of visitors had mentioned they wish we had more hands-on displays, for both adults and children. It's always bothered us that we never really had anything on display that young children could interact with.

"We wanted something that would be kid friendly but also interesting to adults and senior citizens," she continues, "so we went with a broad array of items, from a textured painting created by our education director, Daleana Vaughan, to a marble owl that is smooth, soft and cold to the touch. We have a wooden parrot, a detailed bust of young Franklin D. Roosevelt, and more."

"All the objects, except the painting, are from my personal collection," Meluso says. "I selected them for the variety of media, their textural interest and subject matter that would engage a wide audience."

"Our Touch Gallery is small for now," Conry admits, "but that won't stop your imagination from running wild when you get the chance to visit the new permanent display. It's human nature to be curious, and curiosity makes us want to touch and feel. It's an exciting feeling getting to be interactive with artwork in a place where you are usually told 'no touching!' -- and that is exactly the feeling you'll have when you visit this display: Excitement."

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Courtesy Photos The new Touch Gallery at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum includes "a broad array of items," from a textured painting to a wooden parrot, a detailed bust of young Franklin D. Roosevelt and more. It is intended to appeal to all ages.

NAN What's Up on 05/27/2018

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