Georgia Museum of Art takes home gold at Southeastern Museums Conference

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia won two awards in publications design and two for exhibitions at this year’s Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) annual meeting, held October 8–10 in Jackson, Mississippi. The museum’s outstanding quarterly newsletter Facet, designed by Athens firm The Adsmith, took home the gold in the Newsletters and Calendar of Events category. “Clinton Hill,” an exhibition catalogue that surveyed the artist’s career as a printmaker, painter and pulp-paper pioneer received gold in the Book and Catalogues category. William U. Eiland, the museum’s director, wrote the book and served as curator for its accompanying installation. Almanac, a firm based in St. Louis, Missouri, was responsible for the book’s design.

Nathan Sprehe, president and executive director of Almanac, says, “Almanac was thrilled to work with the Georgia Museum of Art on the design of the Clinton Hill catalogue. The final piece’s unexpected size, Smyth-sewn binding, surprising die cuts, varied paper types and printing processes were intended to complement the unconventional characteristics of the show’s installation while at the same time paying homage to what Clinton Hill was best known for.”

The museum also received awards for two exhibitions. “Crafting History: Textiles, Metals and Ceramics at the University of Georgia,” which included works by dozens of UGA faculty members, received a gold award.

Annelies Mondi, deputy director at the museum, said, “My fellow co-curators and I are elated to receive the Gold Award in the Excellence in Exhibitions competition. It is gratifying to be recognized by our professional peers in the Southeast and an honor to receive such a distinction.”

The museum also received a bronze award for “Modern Living: Gio Ponti and the 20th-Century Aesthetics of Design,” an exhibition that presented more than 50 objects, representing some of Ponti’s most outstanding pieces of furniture and decorative objects.

SEMC is a nonprofit organization comprising museums, museum staff, independent professionals and corporate partners who work to provide educational and professional developmental opportunities, improve the exchange of ideas and information and encourage respect and collegiality. SEMC focuses on Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.