The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is celebrating 50 years since its founding in 1974 with public events and a new exhibition.

The event kicks off at 3 p.m. Sept. 26 with a printmaking activity, a reception and the release of a commemorative book entitled “Reflecting Fifty Years.” The celebration will conclude with live music from Darryl Singleton and the Crimson Tides. 

“We’ve been here for 50 years. That is an achievement,” education and programs curator Kristen Becker said. “Sometimes universities decide certain things, budget cuts, things like that. Universities have lost their art museums,. We lost our performing arts program [and] our theater program a few years ago, so it really is something to celebrate because we work hard to keep the museum healthy. There’s a lot of fundraising that we need to do to do that.”

Ryan Hardesty, executive director and exhibitions and collections curator, spoke on the theme of this exhibition.

“Specifically, to this exhibition, which is titled ‘Your Collection, Celebrating 50 Years,’ I took the charge as to how to talk about the development of our permanent collection over five decades, and so that’s really how this exhibition is thematically considered and laid out across various spaces here at the museum,” Hardesty said.

He said he had a name of the exhibition in his in mind for a while. 

“It’s a title I’ve had in my back pocket for a really long time that I have been kind of waiting to use for the right project,” Hardesty said. “That title sort of occurred to me probably four years ago and it felt right for this moment.”

Marketing and PR manager Debby Stinson said it is important to still see art in person because it connects you more with the artist.

“When you stand in front of the art, there’s a genuine connection between you and the artist,” Stinson said.

“Your Collection” is available to see at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art until Dec. 13.