Zimmerli Art Museum Wants YOU to Submit for Crowdsourced Exhibition

New Brunswick, NJ - Selfies with Besties. Dorm life, events, classes, volunteering, tailgating, dining downtown, studying abroad. These are only a handful of the themes that have emerged in HereNow: Rutgers 250, the Zimmerli Art Museum's first crowdsourced exhibition that celebrates the university's milestone anniversary. Not about the past, the project is intended to capture the global Rutgers community today. The microsite herenow250.rutgers.edu launched in November - coinciding with the kickoff of Rutgers 250 - and individuals began uploading their photos. On January 19, the Zimmerli transformed the virtual gallery into a museum exhibition. As more photographs come in, the museum prints them and hangs them on the walls of the Voorhees Gallery.

"This is an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, alums, and visitors to Rutgers to contribute to a portrait of the university here and now," says Donna Gustafson, Curator of American Art and Mellon Director for Academic Programs at the Zimmerli. "What does life look like at a great research university that includes over 40,000 students distributed at Newark, Camden, and New Brunswick? I'm looking forward to finding out."

As new photos continue to be uploaded (they must date after January 1, 2015), they will appear in the online gallery, then be printed and added to the museum exhibition. In addition, 250 of the most compelling photos submitted by May 15 will be selected to be included in a full-color commemorative book that will be published in November of 2016, at the culmination of the university's 250th anniversary.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

• Anyone can submit images for the initiative;
• Images can be uploaded to herenow250.rutgers.edu;
• Images are loosely categorized into Academics, Campus Life, Arts, Athletics, and Global Experiences;
• Images must reflect the experience of Rutgers University and be dated between January 1, 2015 and May 15, 2016, to be considered for inclusion in the book;
• Use #RUHERENOW250 to share images on social media.
• Come by the museum often to see the exhibition grow and change.

Rutgers 250 is a yearlong celebration marking Rutgers University's founding in 1766, honoring the university's past, present, and future with a series of events, programs, and gatherings. The history of Rutgers begins on November 10, 1766, when William Franklin, the last Colonial governor of New Jersey, signed the charter that brought Queen's College into existence. In 1825, the school was renamed to honor Colonel Henry Rutgers, a Revolutionary War veteran. In 2015, poised to celebrate 250 years, Rutgers is one of the most highly regarded institutions of higher education in the nation, with more than 65,000 students and 24,400 faculty and staff in New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden, and at locations throughout the state. Complete information and a list of related events can be found at 250.rutgers.edu.

The exhibition HereNow: Rutgers 250 is supported by the Estate of Ralph Voorhees, and donors to the Zimmerli's Major Exhibition Fund: James and Kathrin Bergin, Alvin and Joyce Glasgold, Charles and Caryl Sills, Voorhees Family Endowment, and the Jerome A. Yavitz Charitable Foundation, Inc.--Stephen Cyphen, President. Related public programs are supported by the Friends of the Zimmerli Endowment Fund.

The book HereNow: Rutgers 250 is supported by the Class of 1937 Publications Endowment Fund.

ZIMMERLI ART MUSEUM|RUTGERS

The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum houses more than 60,000 works of art, ranging from ancient to contemporary art. The permanent collection features particularly rich holdings in 19th-century French art; Russian art from icons to the avant-garde; Soviet nonconformist art from the Dodge Collection; and American art with notable holdings of prints. In addition, small groups of antiquities, old master paintings, as well as art inspired by Japan and original illustrations for children's books, provide representative examples of the museum's research and teaching message at Rutgers. One of the largest and most distinguished university-based art museums in the nation, the Zimmerli is located on the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Established in 1766, Rutgers is America's eighth oldest institution of higher learning and a premier public research university.

VISITOR INFORMATION

Admission is free to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers. The museum is located at 71 Hamilton Street (at George Street) on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The Zimmerli is a short walk from the NJ Transit train station in New Brunswick, midway between New York City and Philadelphia.

The Zimmerli Art Museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., and the first Tuesday of each month (except August), 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays and major holidays, as well as the month of August.

For more information, visit the museum's website www.zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu or call 848.932.7237.

SUPPORT

The Zimmerli's operations, exhibitions, and programs are funded in part by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and income from the Avenir Foundation Endowment and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowment, among others. Additional support comes from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; the Estate of Victoria J. Mastrobuono; and donors, members, and friends of the museum.