Hofstra University Museum of Art

Diversity Awareness Initiatives

The mission of the Hofstra University Museum of Art is to "advance knowledge and understanding through experiences with authentic works of art from the world’s diverse cultures." The Museum’s mission is achieved through collection acquisition and preservation, exhibitions and interpretive resources.

Naturally connecting to the core mission of the Museum, a commitment to diversity awareness initiatives and programs continues to expand.  Each program and endeavor is designed to engage students, faculty, and the public in cultural explorations that further knowledge and understanding of our global society, our shared cultural heritage, as well as making distinct links to our daily lives and communities.

Diversity Awareness in Exhibitions, Programs and the Permanent Collections

Exhibitions

The Hofstra University Museum of Art offers changing exhibitions that explore culturally diverse themes and topics.  Each exhibition provides rich opportunities for the Hofstra University community as well as the broader public to study the work of various cultures, artists from other nations and backgrounds, as well as different eras and times.  Below are upcoming and recent exhibitions that foster cultural awareness.

Past Exhibitions

Africa Exhibit
Buddha Head

Collections Based Programming

Art Travelers through Time: Literacy and History through Art at the Hofstra University Museum of Art
With generous funding provided by the Long Island Community Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and others, this vital academic year-long program is designed to engage third grade students from local school districts in the study of concepts related to local and global community understanding, through the use of object-based learning. |more|

Focus on the Hofstra University Museum of Art Permanent Collections

The Museum's permanent collections represent the world’s diverse cultures with more than 5,000 works of art dating from 5,000 BCE to the contemporary from six continents.  Using these rich resources and thanks to the generosity of the Hofstra University Office of the President and other funders, the Cultural Diversity Awareness Program features a series of posters that highlight works from around the world dating from ancient to modern times. | more |

Image captions:
Democratic Republic of Congo, Kuba people, Helmet Mask, 19th-20th century, Wood, copper, cowrie shells, glass beads, fabric, seed pods, fur and animal hair, Hofstra University Museum Collections, Gift of Josephine and Sol Levitt HU 96.56
Thailand, Thai, Head of Buddha, ca. 16th century, Pink sandstone, 16.125 x 9.5 x 10.25 in., Gift of Herman Kahn, HU 69.8

Diversity Awareness: Focus on the Hofstra University Museum Permanent Collections

“Today, more than ever before in our history, museums are an integral and essential part of the fabric of our civic life in America. Museums help us learn about ourselves, to understand each other, to explore diverse cultures around the world, and they provide us with the tools to face the challenges of the future, grounded in the lessons of our collective history. American museums are a cornerstone of learning and an essential part of any democracy.”

- Beth E. Levinthal, Executive Director, Hofstra University Museum

Diversity in the Outdoor Sculpture Collection

The Hofstra University Museums permanent collections include more than 70 works of sculpture which includes works by international artists such as Henry Moore and Constantino Nivola, as well as artists of color.

Examples include:

Frederick Douglass Sculpture
 Vinnie Bagwell (American, born 1957)
Frederick Douglass Circle, 2008
Bronze, 53.5 x 33 x 28.25 in.
Hofstra University Museum Collections
University Purchase, HU2008.5
Plato Having a Dialogue with Socrates
 Mihail Chemiakin (Russian/American, born 1943)
Plato Having a Dialogue with Socrates, 1999
Bronze, 62 x 113.5 x 57 in.
Hofstra University Museum Collections
Gift of the Estate of Harold E. Yuker, HU99.7
Knight
 Manolo Pascual (Spanish, 1902 - 1983)
Knight, 1955
Welded iron, 108.75 x 20.125 x 22 in.
Hofstra University Museum Collections
Gift of the artist, HU68.46

Cultural Diversity Awareness Program

Using the rich resources of the Hofstra University Museum’s permanent collections and thanks to the generosity of the Hofstra University Office of the President and other funders, the Cultural Diversity Awareness Program features a series of posters that highlight works from around the world dating from ancient to modern times. Located at a number of key campus locations, they provide Hofstra’s students with visually stimulating links to other cultures that promote diversity on campus while enhancing the educational experience. During daily activities such as walking to classes, students will learn about the art, geography, and history of cultures from six regions of the world.

Partnering with Margaret Abraham, Special Advisor to the Provost for Diversity Initiatives and Professor of Sociology, the Museum determined that each poster would include the image of the work of art or object, a map of the area of origin, with a highlighted area indicating the specific country where the work was created, artist information when known, medium, and didactic text and information that help explain the meaning of the work.