A collection of recent acquisitions, representing a focus on equity and diversity, is now on view at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

The artworks on view were all added to the SMoCA Collection in the past year. With a growing permanent collection of artworks — 1,917 pieces by 1,400 artists — the museum has recently focused its collecting efforts on equity and diversity.

According to the release, the museum also continues to work toward accessibility, SMoCA registrar Carrie Tovar stated.

“Recently we have made the museum’s collection available online,” Tovar stated in the release. “We also have at least one exhibition each year that draws from the depths of the permanent collection with the goal of highlighting recent acquisitions.”

SMoCA aims to grow its collection and, in the process, continue to develop a strong holding of Arizona-based artists alongside national and international artists. In many ways, the collection reflects the programmatic focus and encompasses many of the exciting artists the museum had worked with over the years.

This exhibition, “SMoCA Collection / Recent Acquisitions,” highlights some of the museum’s intriguing conservation projects as SMoCA continues the important work of understanding, documenting and preserving all the artworks in its care. 

The exhibition is a chance for the curatorial team to draw some surprising and novel juxtapositions and showcase the wide range of media collected as the museum builds a strong collection of art for future generations of Arizonans to enjoy and discover. 

Included in the exhibition are works by Miya Ando, Roland Bernier, Judy Glantzman, Marlyne Jones, Rebecca Rothman, Forrest Solis, Kaori Takamura and Ellen Wagener. 

Five of the eight artists on view are based in Arizona, and seven of the eight artists are women. 

The artists reference a diverse range of topics, such as memory, time, the environment, femininity, language and portraiture. While all are two-dimensional, they are made in a variety of mediums that include acrylic, pastels, ink on aluminum, mixed media and collage.

“The work to diversify and expand the SMoCA collection is ongoing and an important reflection of the current social and political moment in which we live, but we also see the collection as a way to share inspiration and provide escape through the art of our time,” Jennifer McCabe, SMoCA director and chief curator, stated in the release.

Responding to a national survey of art museum collections that revealed women artists comprise less than 15% of total collection artists, SMoCA began a series of self-reflective exhibitions to investigate its own collection. 

In 2020, SMoCA’s “Unapologetic: All Women, All Year” exhibition featured all women artists from the SMoCA Collection.

Then, earlier this year, “Division of Labor: Women Shifting a Transnational Gaze,” featured Arizona-based artists M. Jenea Sanchez and Gabriela Muñoz, who participated in a critical engagement with the SMoCA Collection, a first in the museum's history.

Together with eight other  female artists, they offered a unique perspective on labor in connection to feminisms, identity, equity and the gaze that reached across the United States/Mexico border.

“SMoCA Collection / Recent Acquisitions” is organized by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and will remain on view through Feb. 13, 2022.

SMoCA is open Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., and on Thursdays, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Visit SMoCA.org for more information.

Admission is $10 for non-members; $7 for students, seniors (65+) and veterans; and free for Scottsdale Arts ONE Members and patrons 18 and younger.  Additionally, admission is free every Thursday and every second Saturday of the month.

View the museum’s safety protocols at SMoCA.org/reopening-guidelines.