Engage
It is our mission to engage and inspire through the arts, gardens, and education. We believe that art can unite our community and inspire creativity, sincerity, and kindness. The Cummer Museum can continue to provide comfort, wisdom, and the means for self-expression and connection through our virtual presence. Here you will find innovative solutions to experience the Museum and its benefits from home.
Participate in our latest activity: The Mildred Thompson Escape Room! Stuck in the room? Need help esacping? View the answer key.
CULTURE & CONVERSATION
Culture & Conversation cultivates meaningful dialogue with diverse audiences and connects people to the arts, gardens, and each other. The Cummer Museum's Director of Community Engagement and Inclusion, Wanda Willis, is dedicated to and leads the Museum's efforts to cultivate meaningful partnerships and promote strong community engagement. Our vision is to be a socially responsible partner that connects diverse audiences and is inclusive and representative of our community. Our work is driven to foster a sense of belonging, connecting people to the arts, gardens, and each other; creating new relationships; and most importantly, welcoming everyone throughout our community. Click below to engage with Wanda, and check back often for more videos!
ART MAKING AT HOME
The Museum's new Art Making at Home guide provides ideas and instructions for creating Museum inspired art projects from home. Choose one of the projects in the guide and get the whole family involved! Helpful hint - visit our YouTube Channel for an at-home tutorial.
We invite you to #ColorTheCummerMuseum collection by downloading, coloring, and reimagining works of art found in the Museum. Share them with us on social media using the hashtag above and you could see your designs featured on the Cummer Museum's page.
The new Cummer Museum Resource Guide is intended to be a starting point to online engagement. Looking for projects to create, livestream concerts to listen to, or curriculum based teaching tools? You'll find great suggestions here!
VIRTUAL VIDEOS
Take a moment to learn with us! Our educational videos feature topics ranging from art history to art theory, from the colors on a color wheel to the development of a local park.
Elements of Art
Explore the Elements of Art through our art and gardens with museum educator, Danielle. Part one of this seven-part series focuses on the color wheel and is geared to students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade.
Artists Haunted by Florida's Memory
The founders of the Cummer Museum quickly became intrigued by the mystique of Florida. For nearly 60 years the Museum has developed a special collection of the art of Florida. From artists and alligators, to swamps and Seminoles, join Chief Curator, Holly Keris, for a discussion on Artists Haunted by Florida's Memory.
Conservation, Beautification, and a City Plan
Ninah Cummer was instrumental in conserving, preserving, and developing Jacksonville's green spaces. Conservation, Beautification, and a City Plan: Ninah Cummer and the Beautification of Jacksonville shows just how much of an imprint Mrs. Cummer made on the city and it's parks. Learn about the history of Riverside and how it shaped what the neighborhood looks like today.
More About Mildred
The Cummer Museum recently acquired “Magnetic Fields,” a work of art by abstract artist Mildred Thompson (1936-2003), born in Jacksonville, Florida. The acquisition of Thompson’s ‘Magnetic Fields’ adds to the collection in significant ways. Not only is the work by a locally-born Black lesbian woman, it is an exceptional example of Abstract Expressionism from an overlooked figure in art history. The acquisition of this work exemplifies the institution’s commitment to creating a permanent collection that represents its community through artworks of exceptional aesthetic merit. Watch our video about Mildred Thompson and why we think this work is exceptional. Participate in the Mildred Thompson Escape Room after viewing!
Charmion von Wiegand: Iterations of Abstraction in America in the 20th Century
Charmion von Wiegand worked as a newspaper reporter in NYC, and later in Moscow as a correspondent for Hearst Newspapers. She did not begin her artistic career until her early 30s. She would later serve as president of the American Abstract Artists association and became a champion for Abstract Expressionism. Her painting Night Environment in Manhattan is on long term loan to the Cummer Museum. Take a moment to hear from our curatorial assistant, Katy Martin-Beal, as she discusses Charmion von Wiegan's impact.
Lockdown Lectures
Enjoy free art history lessons from your couch! Dive deeper into works from the Cummer Museum’s permanent collection in a special partnership with Dr. Scott Brown, Professor of Art History at the University of North Florida, as his lectures take you from the American Revolution to the near contemporary moment. These special Zoom talks focus on ideas of American renewal and transformation. This lecture series is in three parts with focus on presidential portraiture, the iconic cowboy myth, and an African American artist engaged in interpreting the European past for the American future.
