Glencairn Museum News | Number 4, 2020
Glencairn Museum has been doing our part during the national jigsaw puzzle shortage! Life in isolation has made puzzle enthusiasts of many of us, so over the past few months Glencairn has established an online presence with Jigsaw Planet (20 puzzles and counting). The goal is to encourage our audience to carefully look at, and think about, works of art in our collections. Why not put on some relaxing music and take your time assembling this beautiful stained-glass panel, which was made around the year 1240 for the Abbey of Saint-Denis in France?
Figure 1: From the comfort of his own home, Walter learns about his ancestors in ancient Egypt in Glencairn Museum News.
What would you do if you were a museum professional and you found yourself —on a moment’s notice—working in a stay-at-home environment, unable to enter your own museum? With the museum’s doors closed, how could you continue to serve your community and, in the words of Glencairn’s impact statement, “stimulate reflection, build understanding, and foster empathy, contributing to the betterment of society by looking to the goodness in others and living a life of kindness”? A few years ago accomplishing all this while working from home might have been unthinkable, but thanks to the New Media Age the Glencairn staff has been preparing (unwittingly) for the Quarantine Age for some time now. For example, did you know that 112 generously-illustrated Glencairn Museum News articles are available online?
The early days of the pandemic were confusing and stressful, as we began planning how to maintain our collections and historic building during the shutdown, as well as how to stay engaged with our audiences. We also wanted to do what we could to support local healthcare workers, who have been putting themselves at risk every day to help those in need during the COVID-19 outbreak. In the first few days of the pandemic we were pleased to discover a box of N-95 masks in a supply closet at Glencairn, which we donated to Temple University Hospital. (If you think you might have masks in storage at your own organization, please consider doing the same.) Glencairn Museum also provided 120 lunches from All Aboard Cafe to the ICU and radiology departments at Abington Hospital.
Figure 2: Glencairn Museum provided 120 lunches to local healthcare workers at Abington Hospital. James P. Cole, pictured at the lower right, was a museum education intern at Glencairn when he attended Bryn Athyn College.
In addition, members of Glencairn’s staff personally funded 100 face masks from the Bryn Athyn Mask Initiative, which we delivered to Holy Redeemer Hospital. Annina King, CGO/Head Designer at Granaté Prêt (and also one of Glencairn’s tour guides) leads this initiative, which allows the public to sponsor handmade masks for donation to medical centers, first responders, and people in need. (To support the Bryn Athyn Mask Initiative, click here.)
Figure 3: Glencairn’s staff personally funded these 100 face masks made by the Bryn Athyn Mask Initiative. They were donated to Holy Redeemer Hospital.
In May we installed a new banner at our Huntingdon Pike entrance, designed in-house by Glencairn, to thank healthcare professionals and all other essential workers who have worked hard and sacrificed during the pandemic. As Mister Rogers would say, we should “look for the helpers”—but we should also not forget to thank them!
Figure 4: This banner on Huntingdon Pike, made in-house by Glencairn, was designed to represent and thank the many different varieties of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April Glencairn provided an All Aboard Cafe lunch to the residents of Cairnwood Village, a non-profit retirement community located across the street from the Bryn Athyn Historic District. In May we surprised them with breakfast trays of bagels, mini scones, mini muffins, and coffee from Be Well Bakery & Café. Many of these nice people are longtime supporters of Glencairn, and we look forward to seeing them again in person when we reopen.
Figure 5: Residents of Cairnwood Village enjoy All Aboard Cafe breakfast trays.
Glencairn also wanted to show our support for teachers within our affiliated schools, who suddenly had to develop new online teaching methods, find creative ways to keep their students engaged in learning, and continue to support their students academically and personally—all while also trying to manage their own personal lives within the context of an uncertain world filled with a range of worries. For this reason, Glencairn has extended a free, 12-month membership, which we have called “Gold Star for the Teacher,” to teachers and staff at Bryn Athyn College, the Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools, and the Bryn Athyn Church School. Included in this gift (to be activated once Glencairn reopens) is free admission to tours, concerts, lectures, and festivals.
During the shutdown Glencairn Museum has significantly expanded our social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube. We have provided virtual access to parts of Glencairn not normally visible to the general public (#GlencairnBehindTheScenes); photos and videos about objects in our permanent collection (#GlencairnUpClose); current views of our gardens (#MuseumBouquet); historic photos of Glencairn in the “early days” (#ThrowbackThursday); and much, much more. Glencairn Museum News, a free publication posted on our website and social media 12 times per year, features in-depth articles about Glencairn and its collections. Since March we have published “Sacred Adornment: Jewelry as Belief in Ancient Egypt” and “Interview with Dr. Charles T. Little: Reflections on the Early Days of Glencairn Museum.”
Figure 6: These stairs lead to a trap door in the ceiling of Glencairn’s Great Hall. The social media hashtag #GlencairnBehindTheScenes is used for photographs of parts of Glencairn not normally seen by the general public.
Glencairn Museum has now joined over 2,000 museums and other organizations worldwide as an official partner with Google Arts & Culture, whose mission is “to preserve and bring the world’s art and culture online so it’s accessible to anyone, anywhere.” Since we launched our Google presence in May, we have added 137 high-resolution “zoomable” photos, and detailed descriptions, of objects in Glencairn’s collection. We will be adding more regularly. We have also published a Google Arts & Culture “online exhibit” of our current temporary exhibition, Sacred Adornment: Jewelry as Belief in Ancient Egypt. Click here to begin exploring Glencairn's collections on Google Arts & Culture. In addition, during our stay-at-home period we have continued digitizing a broad array of Bryn Athyn Historic District archival materials, which can be accessed online.
Figure 7: A new Google Arts & Culture “online exhibit” based on Glencairn’s current exhibition, Sacred Adornment: Jewelry as Belief in Ancient Egypt.
Figure 8: “Glencairn Museum Kids,” a new video series, is available on Glencairn’s YouTube channel. The first video is a stained-glass project.
With Glencairn closed and unable to host families, teachers, and students in person, we have added a new Educational Resources page to our website. These materials cover topics connected to the Museum’s current programs and collections, such as life in the ancient world and in the Middle Ages. With special activities for different age groups—and new items added regularly—our hope is that these online resources will help build understanding and foster empathy with young people as they learn about the beliefs and practices of human beings throughout time.
Over the past several months we have also launched three new online video series: “Meet the Artist,” “Glencairn Museum Kids,” and “Glencairn Up Close.” Currently one video from each series is available on Glencairn’s YouTube channel: “A Tile for Glencairn Museum” (with featured artist Christina Orthwein); “Stained-Glass Project for Kids” (with Amy Glenn, Educational Programs Manager); and “The Legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus” (with stained-glass expert Dr. Michael Cothren). We will be adding more videos to these series in the future.
We have also established an online presence with Jigsaw Planet. The global “slow art” movement is about slowing down and taking time to notice the fine details of individual works of art, instead of gulping them down like “fast food.” We’ve noticed that the average amount of time people spend assembling online puzzles of Glencairn’s artworks is between five and ten minutes—the minimum time recommended by proponents of “slow art.” So far we’ve published 20 jigsaw puzzles related to Glencairn and its collections: visit us at Jigsaw Planet.
Figure 9: This 72-piece puzzle, online at Jigsaw Planet, is an illuminated manuscript leaf in Glencairn’s collection from a 15th-century French Book of Hours. The miniature painting depicts the biblical story of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (Luke 2:8-20).
Figure 10: This puzzle of a Greek water jar in Glencairn’s collection is now online at Jigsaw Planet. The puzzle, in only nine pieces, was made especially for children.
On June 5th Montgomery County entered Pennsylvania's Yellow Phase, and visitors are now once again welcome to enjoy Glencairn’s gardens and grounds from sunrise to sunset. (This happened just in time for National Garden Week, June 7-13). The Museum itself, however, continues to be closed. When we have moved to the Green Phase, Glencairn will begin to reopen to the public, taking appropriate safety precautions and following all necessary guidelines. We hope to see you again soon!
Figure 11: Now that Montgomery County has entered Pennsylvania's Yellow Phase, visitors are once again welcome to enjoy Glencairn’s gardens and grounds from sunrise to sunset.
(CEG)
A complete archive of past issues of Glencairn Museum News is available online here.