The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is Willamette’s crown jewel, offering visitors world-class exhibits tucked in the corner of the Salem campus. “It’s a place where you can spend two hours and feel like you had a rich, full experience,” Museum Director John Olbrantz said.
This year marks HFMA’s 25th Anniversary, and in honor of the milestone, a year of celebration is planned to immerse the Willamette community in all the treasures it has to offer. “In contrast to larger institutions where you may feel like a deer in the headlights after an hour or two, we strive to make the museum enriching, but not overwhelming,” he explained.
Visitors can walk through the Mark and Janeth Sponenburgh Gallery and discover gem-like pieces from across 5,000 years of history. “We’ve got art that is Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Medieval, a collection of Renaissance drawings…and more,” Olbrantz noted, to name only some of the collections.
When Willamette merged with the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2021, HFMA also acquired the Museum of Contemporary Craft collection. “It’s one of the finest collections of American Ceramics in the country,” Olbrantz said.
HFMA’s silver anniversary celebration, which runs Sept. 16 through Dec. 16, will feature events open to the public. “We’re having a wide variety of programming that will showcase the full range of our materials and will tell the story of the growth and development of the museum.”
Scheduled lectures include one by Olbrantz on the history of the HFMA on Sept. 28. Aleesa Alexander BA'10, a Willamette alumand Robert M. and Ruth L. Halperin Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Stanford University, will speak on the role of campus museums in facilitating community.
Additional events include weekly guided tours led by docents every Tuesday from Sept. 19 to Dec. 12, and a Family Activity Day open to kids.
HFMA’s official anniversary is Oct. 3. In celebration, the museum will offer free admission throughout October. HFMA also offers free admission every Tuesday, so visitors can experience a world-class museum for free throughout the year.
Reflecting on the past 25 years, Olbrantz says he is proud of what’s been built at HFMA. One of the remarkable achievements is its building of a substantial endowment fund.
“We’ve worked hard to raise funding to support acquisitions and staffing, art conservation, and general operating support,” he said. HFMA has well exceeded those financial goals, and is poised for even more expansion and years of exciting programming ahead.
Learn more about the Museum’s upcoming year of celebration and register for future events.
