Highlights from Museum Week 2015

Last week, the world celebrated #MuseumWeek 2015 on Twitter. From March 23–29, museums and visitors alike shared photos and thoughts on a different theme each day. Here’s a selection of some of our favorite tweets throughout the week. Thank you to everyone who participated; see you at #MuseumWeek 2016!

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From Twitter follower ‏@ewpierce: “Spring break #SouvenirsMW @PhillipsMuseum from 2011. It was a scream of a trip!”

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From Twitter follower ‏@haionlife: “In honor of #MuseumWeek, here is what I’m inspired by & why I study art hist @ngadc @PhillipsMuseum @Tate @hirshhorn”

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From Twitter follower ‏@bluelikechagall: “Wolfgang Laib’s Wax room installation @PhillipsMuseum! #favMW Wall detail”

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From Twitter follower @LetsGoToMuseums: “Alice shows students how to make a print after a lesson on abstraction & Man Ray. @PhillipsMuseum #MuseumWeek”

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From Twitter follower ‏@aiax2: “#arquitectureMW Looking up @PhillipsMuseum #MuseumWeek”

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From Twitter follower @SenorPeanut: “One of my favorite places for reflection (and posing) #poseMW #MuseumWeek”

 

Tweeting Behind the Scenes of Made in the USA

To celebrate the opening of Made in the USA, we held a series of tweetups in the weeks leading up to the exhibition. Participants used #MyAmericanArt to share photos of their behind-the-scenes preview with friends. We started with a tour from exhibition curator Susan Behrends Frank:

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TWEETS (Clockwise from top left): “‘Everything is pushed to the corners.’ #myamericanart,” @sam_theriault; “Can a work of art be too realistic? People thought this one was at the time it was done. #MyAmericanArt,” @sbanks20; “Rockwell Kent went into nature to capture grittiness and drama: witness ‘The Road Roller.’ #myamericanart,” @museums365; “Great seeing 200+ old faves back from tour & home @PhillipsMuseum ‘Made in the USA,'” @efstewart; “Moving on to the Degrees of Abstraction room with Avery painting #myamericanart,” @jackievicino

Moved to the conservation lab to hear insights from Associate Conservator Patti Favero:

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TWEETS (Clockwise from top left): “In the conservation room @PhillipsMuseum! #MyAmericanArt,” @swahilary; “I would die for these @KremerPigments in the @PhillipsMuseum conservation studio. #MyAmericanArt,” @studio9201; “Our tweeters get a chance to look at a #Gauguin through the microscope #myamericanart,” @phillipsmuseum; “Restoration and conservation tools. #myamericanart #phillipscollection #art #dc,” @sam_theriault

Then pieced together our own masterpieces based on works from the exhibition:

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TWEETS (Clockwise from top left): “Now we’re making our own art! (With snacks) #myamericanart,” @philipsmuseum; “Before and after shot of collaborative art project at @PhillipsMuseum #myamericanart tweetup! You were a great host!” @danamuses; “Stefan Hirsch’s New York, Lower Manhattan, as interpreted by today’s #MyAmericanArt tweetup.” @Phillipsmuseum; “Before and after! #picstitch #myamericanart,” @VanitaKataria

See the rest of what our tweetup participants had to say on the Phillips’s Storify account, and join the conversation with #MyAmericanArt!

The Best of #Instavangogh

As Van Gogh Repetitions winds down, so too does our #instavangogh competition. We were blown away by the creativity, enthusiasm, and fun people had with our beard cutouts modeled after the Postman Joseph Roulin. Here’s just a few of our favorites.

These irresistibly cuddly pets who sent our cute-o-dometers off the charts:

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Clockwise from top left: submissions from @melissajosefina, @spanuska, @louisvuittonlvoer, and @LindleyThornburg

These creative thinkers who took their beards one step further than most; students from the Nysmith School in Virginia created their own colorful versions, and the folks from the Auberge Ravoux, van Gogh’s last home, sent #instavangogh greetings from across the ocean.

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left: submission from @nysmithschool, right: submission from @christianjosi

Participant @marklindamood, who van Gogh-ified van Gogh himself:

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Submissions from @marklindamood

These couples who were split between excitement and annoyance toward the photo opp:

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Left: submission from @virginiahewitt, right: submission from @cassusmith

These die-hard fans who pulled out all of the van Gogh stops:

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Left: submission from @vtlinda, right: submission from @bosley_lisa

These commendable feats of coordination, each interpreting his or her repetition in a unique way:

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Left: submission from @ejshuq, Right: submission from @amandaduchemin

Check out the rest of the submissions on our #Instavangogh Pinterest board, and don’t miss your chance to see the exhibition before it closes this Sunday, February 2!