Graphic by Brianna Stockwell ’28
By Aspen Pearson ’28
Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer
After more than three years of renovations and a full shutdown that started in the spring of last year, the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum has reopened its galleries with a new presentation of its collection. The renovated spaces feature a chronological approach to displaying artwork, along with changes to the layout and flow of the museum.
The renovation, which began in July 2023, was intended to improve accessibility, create more space for visitors and classes and allow the museum to display a broader range of its collection. The project was a part of various preparations for the museum's celebration of its 150th anniversary, which will take place in November. Additionally, the event will put on display an archival project mapping 150 years of the museum, completed by archives interns at the College.
Although some of these renovations were in progress and presented to the public before the museum closed in the spring of 2026, much of the work was completed during the months it was closed.
Some of the newer galleries include special exhibits including “Faith Ringgold’s America” and “Art Histories: The Past as Provocation.” There are also permanent exhibitions, such as “Art from 700 to 1700.”
The reopened galleries demonstrate the museum's commitment to sharing the provenance of objects, as well as acknowledging the faults and complexities of cultural objects that exist within the collection. Curators paid special attention to the diversification of the art on display and included broader cultural conversations within their gallery spaces. This process was facilitated by moving away from separating art by region. The art is now organized by historical era, rather than by the place it was created.
One label reads, “We think it is critical to confront and teach about complicated objects, rather than presenting a sanitized version of history. Importantly, research is ongoing.” Staff also included pamphlets and signs that discuss provenance and how the objects got to the museum, which can be found on various walls around the museum.
Walking through the museum, there was a noticeable change in the flow of the galleries. Besides the new chronological system of organization, there was more room for classes to sit and discuss artwork. There were at least two classes present when I visited, discussing different parts of the museum in depth, with staff rolling in other artworks for them to discuss.
My favorite exhibit was the drawers in the “Art Before 700 CE” gallery, which allows visitors to interact with the collection in a different way. Staff included objects like coins and fabric samples that add a different dimension of complexity to the gallery pieces.
The changes to the gallery are best experienced in person. The museum is open Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday, 1-5 p.m., for visitors who want to explore the newly renovated galleries and see how the collection has been reimagined.
Whitney White ’28 contributed fact-checking.
