Five Reasons Winter Is Tacoma Art Museum's Time To Shine

Tacoma sometimes lives in the shadow of it's bigger brother, Seattle, but Tacoma Art Museum is breaking out of the mold. While they're busy building a new wing to hold a huge collection donated by Seattle's famous Benaroya family (sorry-not-sorry Seattle!), they're not too busy to be throwing down the gauntlet with five new exhibitions opening this winter.

1. Animals: Wild and Captured in Bronze (Jan. 27 - ongoing)

Photographer: David J Swift / Via tacomaartmuseum.org

Wild mustangs and majestic bison are symbols of the American West. However, many other creatures also live in the diverse habitats west of the Mississippi River. This exhibition features all kinds of wildlife that inhabit the West and the artists who have captured their likenesses in bronze.

2. Immigrant Artists and the American West (Feb. 3, 2018 - June 14, 2020)

Photographer: David J Swift / Via tacomaartmuseum.org

Immigration is a hot topic, but it's not a new one. It's affected people in the American West since the region was first explored by Europeans. Drawing from Tacoma Art Museum’s Haub Family Collection of Western American Art, its Northwest Art Collection, as well as loans of contemporary art, Immigrant Artists and the American West highlights artists from diverse places including China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Russia, among others. The exhibition draws attention to how art relates to and responds to personal and political issues around immigration.

3. Native Portraiture: Power and Perception (Feb. 10, 2018 - Feb. 10, 2019)

Photo courtesy of Laura McCurdy / Via tacomaartmuseum.org

Western art is laden with images of Native Americans that range from recordings of direct observations to highly romanticized, invented images. Yet many of these paintings are made by non-Native artists. This exhibition seeks to continue TAM’s work with tribal members to educate its visitors about the symbolism of the artworks and the historical contexts in which they were created.

4. Winter in the West (Feb. 17, 2018 - Feb. 10, 2019)

Photo by Richard Nicol / Via tacomaartmuseum.org

Winter is here. This selection of paintings from the Haub Family Collection celebrates the winter season with a juxtaposition of serene snow-covered landscapes alongside images of people living their lives in the cold. Winter in the West celebrates the resiliency and determination of the many inhabitants of the region during this cold and dark season.

5. Places to Call Home: Settlements in the West (Feb. 17, 2018 - Feb. 10, 2019)

Photo by Richard Nicol / Via tacomaartmuseum.org

For centuries people have congregated in specific places in the West to exchange goods, ideas, and cultural practices. From Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Fe, and San Antonio to pueblos and towns, settlements in the West have a vitality that is represented in art. The exhibition showcases the diverse places people have called home and explores the nuances of these thriving sites of cultural exchange.