The Museum is open Wednesday - Saturday 11 - 4, Sunday 12 - 4.
Plan your Visit >
Founded in 1912, the Newport Art Museum is one of the oldest continuously operating and most highly regarded art museums and schools of its kind in the country.
The Newport Art Museum’s collection consists of approximately 3,000 works of art in a range of media including works on paper (prints, drawings, watercolors, and photographs), paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, installation works, and textiles and is expanding to include new media. Concentrated on American art and contemporary art, the Museum’s collection includes works of art from the 18th century to present.
As a valued Newport Art Museum member you're entitled to free admission, are invited to members' only events and exhibition tours, receive discounts on Museum School class tuition and public program tickets, and will be supporting the Museum's mission to share a diversity of art and experiences to our Newport community and beyond.
By supporting the Newport Art Museum Annual Fund at any level, you help make a positive difference in the lives of many. Our exhibitions, public programs, education, and community outreach, which includes a diversity of artistic voices, would not be possible without you. Help the Newport Art Museum continue to spark reflection, inspiration, discovery and build lasting connections by making your tax-deductible contribution today. We thank you for believing in the transformative power of art and allowing us to make art accessible to all for generations to come. Help the Newport Art Museum continue to spark reflection, inspiration, discovery, and build connections by making your tax-deductible contribution TODAY!
Are you a business owner who is looking for new ways to engage and connect with local Newport customers on a year round basis? We have the perfect opportunity. Sponsor a Newport tradition - The Newport Art Museum - Make NAM part of your marketing plan in 2025. We have an array of events and exhibits to offer you. Our first exciting event is the 2025 Winter Speaker Series in its 97th Year.
PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: Merrill Allen Director of Marketing Newport Art Museum 76 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI 02840 (401) 619-7999 mallen@newportartmuseum.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Newport Art Museum Announces New Exhibition, “Hair Stories”
(Newport, RI – July 15, 2021) – The Newport Art Museum is pleased to announce a new exhibition, “Hair Stories,” which will be on view to the public Saturday, July 17 through October 31, 2021.
Hair is more than just the threadlike growth in human beings. It has played important roles in culture, religion, politics, ritual, and identity throughout history and in the present day. In some cultures, hair is a source of strength or a sign of femininity, virility, and beauty. How it is cut, styled, treated, and kept embodies individual and cultural values. At times, it has been the subject of cultural and political conflicts. It is both symbolic and personal.
Bringing together a diverse group of artists whose work focuses on hair or uses hair as a medium, this show explores the multifaceted meanings of hair today. From hair jewelry and lockets that fetishize hair to photographs, sculptures, and video works that celebrate hair, this show examines the ways in which hair functions as a complex set of codes and as the loaded raw material for artistic expression. Themes include history, narrative, loss and mourning, and identity (cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identity). Featured artists include: Eunice Adorno, Melanie Bilenker, Tara Bogart, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Sonya Clark, Sean M. Johnson, Nneka Kai, Vivian Keulards, Wangui Maina, Ana Mendieta, Patricia Miranda, Zanele Muholi, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Rachel Portesi, Shahzia Sikander, Lorna Simpson, Gu Wenda, Nafis M. White, Anne Wilson, and D.M. Witman.
“Hair Stories” was made possible with the generous support of the West Bay Foundation, Steven and Ellen Bowman, Chas A. Miller III and Birch Coffey / Charles A. and Lois H. Miller Foundation, Cleo and Michael Gewirz, Susan and George Petrovas, and Dwight and Susan Sipprelle.
For more information, please visit newportartmuseum.org.
About the Newport Art Museum The Newport Art Museum was founded in 1912 on the belief that arts and culture have the power to bring diverse groups of individuals together, which ultimately promotes civic engagement and strengthens the social fabric of our communities. This core belief continues to guide the Museum’s direction today. Museum offerings range from exhibitions and lectures to art classes in its Museum School and art trips to other cultural institutions. Located on 3-acres along beautiful Bellevue Avenue in Newport, RI, the Museum’s galleries are housed in two historically significant buildings and feature notable special exhibitions as well as selections from its growing permanent collection.
Our Museum’s mission is to share a diversity of art and experiences that spark reflection, inspiration, discovery, and connection within our Newport community and beyond. The Museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, Thursdays (April – December) until 7 pm, and Sunday from noon to 5 pm. Museum membership levels and benefits, art school classes and registration, exhibition schedules, public programming, and more can be found at www.newportartmuseum.org. Phone: (401) 848-8200.
###
Nafis M. White, Oculus - Purple/Black/Gray/Crimson/Blonde Hair, 2020, hair, embodied knowledge, ancestral recall, bobby pins, 2 feet x 6 inches, Purchase with funds provided by Karl and Teryn Weintz and the Museum Purchase Fund, 2021.001.001 © Nafis M. White.
Anne Wilson, Mourning Cloth (drape), 1992-1993, Hair, thread, reconstructed cloth, 72 x 32x 2 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Rhona Hoffman Gallery. © Anne Wilson.
Wangui Maina, Untitled, 2009, Charcoal and pastel on paper, 26 x 40 inches, Courtesy of the artist. © Wangui Maina.
Sean M. Johnson, Beard Washing, 2008, from the series “Boyhood Play,” pigment inkjet print, 34 x 34 inches, Courtesy of the artist. © Sean M. Johnson.
Sonya Clark, For Colored Girls...a rainbow (1), 2019, afro wig, combs, thread, 12 x 12 inches, Private Collection, Courtesy of Lisa Sette Gallery. © Sonya Clark.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Freedom Trap, 2013, Polaroid, 30 x 22 inches, Fitchburg Art Museum, GIft of Dr. Anthony Terrana, 2020.64. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons.
Vivian Keulards, Eimear, 2014, from the series “Flaming Grace,” light inkjet print on dibond, 24 x 36 inches, Courtesy of the artist. © Vivian Keulards.