10.13. Oglethorpe University Museum of Art

The Oglethorpe University Museum of Art (OUMA) is located on the third floor of Lowry Hall. OUMA serves the university and greater Atlanta community by presenting exhibitions that reflect the interdisciplinary strength of a liberal arts education and the cultural diversity of our community. OUMA engages students by providing a creative stage for the development of museum professionals and engages the public with exhibitions and programming founded on the principles of excellence and social service. The museum proper is comprised of four spaces: The Shelley and Donald Rubin Gallery, Skylight Gallery, OUMA Research Center, and Center Gallery. The museum galleries are welcoming spaces with ample seating, Bluetooth-enabled speakers/charging stations, and meditation/sensory rooms. Additionally, the museum organizes both permanent collection and student art exhibitions in satellite spaces such as the Trustees Room of the Turner Lynch Campus Center, Conant Lobby Gallery, the President’s Gallery in Lupton Hall, and Hearst Hall Gallery. OUMA has become an important cultural addition to Atlanta’s growing arts community, drawing thousands of visitors each year. Lecture and concert series complement exhibitions on view. OUMA is the only small liberal arts university museum in the Southeast which regularly shows nationally and internationally recognized exhibitions. The OUMA permanent collection includes work by master painters, sculptors, and printmakers including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, August Rodin, Pierre Bonnard, Alexander Calder, Utagawa Hiroshige, Eugène Delacroix, Marc Chagall, and Salvador Dalí. Over the past five years, a commitment to better reflect the diversity of the student body has allowed for new acquisitions by artists such as Romare Bearden, Rufino Tamayo, Shanequa Gay, Maria Cristina Tavera, and Jess T. Dugan. Each semester OUMA offers gallery assistant internships, independent study, and work study opportunities. Collaborative planning with faculty and staff allows for direct course development in conjunction with exhibitions to give students an immersive experience. OUMA is a crucial tool for university enrichment and scholarship and, as Brookhaven’s only museum of art, is uniquely positioned to fulfill the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility through expansion of collections, education, and community engagement.