de Saisset Museum to Present Jazz Greats
Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection
SANTA CLARA, Calif., January 17, 2018—The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University announces an exciting partnership with Bank of America on an upcoming exhibition.
On January 26, 2018 the museum will open the exhibition Jazz Greats: Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection. Jazz is historically at the forefront of African American music for its honesty, sensuality, and improvisational vigor. The photographs in this exhibition capture exuberant moments of performance, the ecstatic energy of enraptured audiences, as well as more intimate and reflective moments of well-known musicians. In total, the exhibition includes 34 images by 16 photographers who are as dynamic as their subjects—celebrated, iconic jazz singers and musicians from the 1920s through the 1980s including Miles Davis, John and Alice Coltrane, and Billie Holiday.
The Bay Area is known for its vibrant jazz community, but even for those who may not frequent local jazz clubs and performances, the opportunity to see images of Louis Armstrong, Eartha Kitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and others enthralled in moments of performance proves quite compelling. “The de Saisset Museum looks forward to this partnership. The Jazz Greats exhibition allows us to provide multimedia educational programming to our audiences with a focus on cultural diversity, music history, and the social conditions which helped shape this dynamic American art form,” said Rebecca Schapp, director of the de Saisset Museum.
This exhibition is provided through Bank of America’s Art in Our Communities® program. Through this program, curated collections and entire exhibitions are loaned to local museums and nonprofit galleries at no cost as a way to engage the public with important works of art while helping institutions generate vital revenue.
“We believe the arts matter and can be used to help stimulate local economic and cultural activity,” said Raquel González, Silicon Valley market president, Bank of America. “The Jazz Greats exhibit will be a perfect complement to the de Saisset Museum’s other upcoming cultural programs and exhibits going into 2018, capturing the vibrant diversity found across the region.”
In addition to a wonderful selection of photographs, this exhibition provides an exciting opportunity for community engagement and educational programming. Several public programs will be presented at the museum (and other venues on the Santa Clara University campus) in conjunction with this exhibition aligned with Black History Month (February) and Jazz Appreciation Month (April), including panel conversations, public performances, and a family day. These events are presented in partnership with Bank of America, San Jose Jazz, and multiple partners across Santa Clara University programs and departments.
More information about the exhibition and related programming will be posted on the museum’s website www.scu.edu/desaisset, or please inquire at 408.554.4528 / desaissetmuseum@scu.edu
A free public reception for the exhibition will be held on Thursday, January 25, 2018 from 7–8:30 p.m. at the de Saisset Museum. Museum members can join the reception an hour early at 6 p.m.
The exhibition Jazz Greats: Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection will be on view from January 26–June 16, 2018 (except for March 17–April 4 when the museum will be closed for SCU’s academic break).
About Bank of America’s Art in Our Communities®
Through the Art in Our Communities® program, Bank of America has transformed its collection into a unique resource from which museums and nonprofit galleries may borrow complete or customized exhibitions at no cost. By providing these exhibitions and the support required to host them, this program helps enrich communities culturally and economically and generates vital revenue for institutions. Since its launch in late 2008, more than 120 exhibitions have been loaned to museums worldwide.
About the de Saisset Museum
The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University is the South Bay’s free museum of art and history. The museum was founded adjacent to the Mission Santa Clara de Asís on the Santa Clara University campus in 1955 and is one of only three museums in the South Bay accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The de Saisset Museum supports Santa Clara University’s goal of educating the whole person through a diverse and accessible range of exhibitions, collections, and educational programs that highlight the art and history of the San Francisco Bay Area. As a center for lifelong learning, the de Saisset facilitates discovery, experience, and inspiration through engaging objects of art and history.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministries, and theology; and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact: Deepa Arora | darora@scu.edu | (408) 554-5125