b'Bisa Butler, The Warmth of Other Sons, 2020; cotton, silk, wool and velvet, quilted and appliqu; 108 x 144 in. (276.9347.31.3 cm); Purchase 2020 Collections Exchange Fund 2020.1;Bisa Butler.anotherontheHarlemRenaissanceleadershipteam,whichisallfemale, that focuses on the symbiotic relation- hasdedicateditselftohighlighting ship between art and music. voices and artists who have too often Educationalprogramminghasal- been overlooked. It kept those param-ways been important to the museum,eters in mind as it has expanded its art but because all the programming wascollection and planned its exhibitions.based in the museum, it was limited byOne of the museums recent show-geography.VirtuallearningchangedcasedacquisitionsisTheWarmthof that. The most recent numbers show,OtherSuns,amonumentalpieceby saysThomas,thatfromNovem- artist-quilter Bisa Butler, who grew up ber 2020 to June of this year, nearlyin South Orange and taught at Colum-13,000 students from five states andbiaHighSchoolandinrecentyears Canada benefited from the museumshas gained a national reputation for her programs.Andthemuseumprovid- work, which typically focuses on the his-ed professional development for 753tory of the Black American experience.teachers from October through April.AndinOctoberthemuseumwill Thatdoesntmeanthemuseumopen an exhibition by Saya Woolfalk, isnt anxious to get back to its roots,a multimedia artist who describes her-and into its building. Thomas team isselfasbinationalbecauseshewas busy putting the finishing touches onborn in Japan to a Japanese mother and a new exhibit at the museum focus- mixed-raceAmericanfather.Shelives ing on endangered animals, which willand works in New York and her work, premier in November and incorporatesteeped in science fiction, focuses on the a bit of what was learned in all thoseintersection of science, art and gender.pandemic months. It is interactive andIncontinuingtojoinforceswith immersive and will make use of the lat- othercommunityorganizations,the est technology and computer-generat- Museumhascollaboratedwiththe ed optics. And school groups will beNewJerseySymphonyOrchestrato welcomed back in January. bring a series of concerts to its memo-Themuseumwillalsocontinuerial garden. The concerts run through tofocusonthecommunity,andonSeptember 24; the schedule and tickets showcasinglesser-knownvoicesandareavailablethroughthemuseums perspectives. website: newarkmuseumart.org. Evenbeforetheshutdown,saysTia Swanson was an art history minor in Kasindorf,wewereworkingtobecollege and in her next life will work in moreinclusive,morerelevant.Thea museum.20/ matters magazine / school 2021'