Hunter Museum of American Art

More Than Just a New Exhibit

The Hunter Museum and the Tennessee Aquarium recently celebrated the opening of our joint exhibition, Jellies: Living Art.

At first glance, it appears that the exhibition is all about animals and art. But if you look closer you will see that it is also about a fantastic collaboration between two of Chattanooga’s premier organizations, the Tennessee Aquarium and the Hunter.

For more than eight years the Hunter and the Aquarium have developed a strong partnership that has been primarily focused on sharing resources that are considered to be “back office” functions--accounting, human resources, information systems, retail purchasing and some market research. A similar relationship exists between the Aquarium and the Creative Discovery Museum and the three organizations were recently recognized as one of the best non-profit collaborations in the country by the Lodestar Foundation.

The Jellies exhibition marks yet another milestone in our collaboration where we’ve moved from the back-of-the-house activities to the front line. We’ve often talked about our desire to take the Hunter off the hill and to make it more a part of our community. With the Jellies exhibition, not only has the Hunter moved off the hill, but it has landed in the middle of the Aquarium.

Like many exhibitions, Jellies gives the viewer the opportunity to see something they have never seen before or consider what they see from another point of view. My personal hope is that the viewers slow down and think about the similarities between art and the natural world in this exhibit and as they explore the rest of the Aquarium and Hunter galleries and take some of those lessons home.

However, if visitors only go to the Aquarium they will just have half the experience. On view at the Hunter is a complementary glass installation of work by internationally renowned artist Dale Chihuly. The Laguna Murano Chandelier on view in the temporary exhibition gallery looks as though it is exploding from the ceiling and the floor. I guarantee that it is not like anything you’ve ever seen.

Obviously, scores of people have been involved with this project and I want to thank everyone for their contribution to making it such a success. It has been a pleasure for me to see the staff of each organization mesh, partner, collaborate and work together. I think we’ve all learned something from one another and each organization is richer because of this experience.

I hope you make the time in your schedule to join the thousands of people that have already experienced Jellies: Living Art. The installation at the Aquarium may be on view for three-years, but Chihuly’s Laguna Murano Chandelier will only be in Chattanooga through August 9th.

Rob Kret, Director of the Hunter Museum of American Art

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