october 2020
Event Details
A Peek at the Polk – The Art Museum and You
What’s been happening during the Covid shutdown at the PMOA and what’s coming up for you to look forward to? How many of you have been to the PMOA?
Get a sneak peek behind the scenes of our fabulous Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College with Executive Director and Chief Curator Dr. H. Alexander Rich on Sunday October 18th at 4 pm. Alex is happy to field any and all of your questions and talk about Jewish Artists, current exhibits, you name it! He is very knowledgeable and eager to share his expertise and time with us. We are fortunate to have him for this hour so please join our Zoom program and make Alex feel welcome! Register at: http://bitly.ws/9Wq7
A Little Bit About Alex
Dr. Rich earned his A.B. degree in English and Art History from Dartmouth College, and both his M.A. and Ph.D. in Art History from The Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. His museum experience began with a high school apprenticeship as a tour guide at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, followed by internships at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Met, membership in the Exhibitions Committee at the Hood Museum of Art, and a research/writing fellowship in the Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. He also worked as assistant to the Head of Museum Interpretation in the Education Department of the Whitney Museum, and as an adjunct professor at Hunter College, City University of New York, and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Dr. Rich joined Florida Southern in August 2014 as Assistant Professor of Art History, heading the Art History Program and directing the College’s galleries and exhibitions. In June 2017, he assumed the additional role of Curator and Director of Galleries and Exhibitions for the Polk Museum of Art, as part of an affiliation agreement between the two organizations. Two years later, he was appointed Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Museum and became chair of a new standalone Department of Art History and Museum Studies housed at the Museum. In May 2017, Dr. Rich received tenure at FSC and is now Associate Professor.
A Little Bit About PMOA
Founded in 1966 as the Imperial Youth Museum and renamed the Polk Public Museum in 1969 to better reflect its emphasis on art, history, and science, Lakeland’s premiere not-for-profit art museum doubled its exhibition and classroom facilities with the purchase of a vacant Publix Super Market building in 1970. Together with the School Board of Polk County, staff members worked to establish and sustain a curriculum-based art education program. The institution received accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 1983, and was renamed the Polk Museum of Art. Its current facility on Palmetto Street was formally dedicated in September 1988.
