Ackland Art Museum welcomes The Outwin
Carolina's art museum is the only Southeast location chosen to host the “The Outwin: American Portraiture Today” from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
The Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will host “The Outwin: American Portraiture Today” on view from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery from June 1 through Aug. 26. The Ackland is the fourth and final stop and is the only Southeast location chosen to host the exhibition. A preview of the exhibition can be seen here. The selected finalists for the 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition finalists included in “The Outwin: American Portraiture Today” present a turning point in the advancement of American contemporary portraiture.
First-prize winner of the 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition Amy Sherald became the first woman to win the competition for her oil on canvas titled “Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)” (2013). Former first lady Michelle Obama selected Sherald to create her official portrait for the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection, revealed in February 2018. Sherald and Moss will also participate in a public discussion on June 1 at 6:30 p.m. about modern portraiture in the age of the selfie and digitized personhood.
“We are thrilled to welcome ‘The Outwin’ as the Museum’s major summer exhibition,” said Katie Ziglar, director of the Ackland Art Museum. “From the breadth of artistic medium to the diverse representations of participants and their subjects, this show reflects the Ackland’s commitment to providing experiences that spark insight into ourselves, each other, and the world.”
“The Outwin” is the latest art experience offered by the Ackland, a partner in the university’s Arts Everywhere initiative, which strives to make art accessible to the campus and wider community. Arts Everywhere is a signature initiative of the University’s $4.25 billion fundraising campaign, the Campaign for Carolina. Since January 2017 the Ackland has secured gifts valued at $69.2 million, including several Rembrandt drawings, paintings and prints by Joan Mitchell and a 1971 oil and charcoal on paper by Willem de Kooning. These gifts, among others, increased the Ackland’s growth by more than 500 percent over the previous four years, bolstering the museum’s position as the preeminent public university art museum in the country.
