'Culture Push'
Ross Art Museum Earns Art Bridges Grant to Support Film Series, Field Trips, and Activity Nights
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University's Richard M. Ross Art Museum will launch a new "Culture Push" Film Series this month with free admission to six films thanks to a $15,000 Art Bridges Foundation grant awarded to the museum.
The film series will include four screenings at downtown Delaware's historic Strand Theatre, 28 E. Winter St., and two at the Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St. The Art Bridges Learning & Engagement Award also will support related field trips for Delaware County children in grades kindergarten through five and activity nights for Ohio Wesleyan students.
Museum Director Christopher Yates said he is honored for the Ross to be recognized by Art Bridges and to use the foundation's grant to expand the impact of the museum's current 'Culture Push' exhibition.
"'Culture Push' showcases art from the Ross's permanent teaching collection curated in response to Native American artist Fritz Scholder's painting, 'Hollywood Indian' on loan from Art Bridges," Yates said. "With dramatic color and gesture, Scholder's 1973 painting challenges Hollywood's stereotypical representation of Native peoples.
"The exhibit, on display until March 30, supports the curriculum developed for OWU's first-year student seminar, 'Move: Mobility, Migration, and Belonging,'" Yates said. "The seminar investigates the cultural forces that shape people's lives, and I am excited to invite the community to consider the topic with us through the museum's new grant-support film series and visit and activity programs."
Free Film Screenings
The "Culture Push" film series will kick off Feb. 13 and conclude March 26. It is scheduled to include the following, with all films beginning at 6:30 p.m. Several films will include conversations supported by OWU's Film Studies Program.
- Feb. 13: "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (2022), directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. Shown at the Strand, the film focuses on a middle-aged, overworked Chinese immigrant caught up in a surreal journey in which her present reality collides with a multiverse of lives she could have lived. She must fight to save her family and the multiverse itself.
- Feb. 19: "Lost in Translation" (2003), directed by Sofia Coppola. Screened at the Strand, the film features an aging movie star visiting Tokyo to shoot a promotional ad. He befriends a young American woman traveling with her husband. Isolated and unfulfilled, the two are drawn to each other through shared uncertainties and longing.
- Feb. 27: "Smoke Signals" (1998), directed by Chris Eyre. Shown at the Strand, the film focuses on Victor and Thomas, who are on a road trip. Victor's father has died, and the two are on a journey to gather his belongings and retrieve his ashes. Along the way, they form a deep friendship and learn to forgive.
- March 5: "Touch of Evil" (1958), directed by Orson Wells. Screened at the Strand, the movie is filled with murder and corruption as newlyweds Miguel "Mike" and Susan Vargas are targeted by a narcotics crime family in a Texas border town. Trust is in short supply as American police Capt. Hank Quinlan weaves a web of deception.
- March 19: "Persepolis" (2007), directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi. Shown at the Ross, the animated film is adapted from Satrapi's graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The animated film is a coming-of-age story in a world turned upside down amid political upheaval in 1970s Iran.
- March 26: "Spirited Away" (2001), directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Screened at the Ross, the animated film focuses on 10-year-old Chihiro, who must learn to navigate the spirit world after her family stumbles upon an abandoned amusement park. By demonstrating resilience, compassion, and respect for the natural world and its spirits, she saves her family and finds belonging.
Field Trips and Activity Nights
In addition to the free film series, the Art Bridges grant also enables the Ross to cover bus transportation and activity material costs for Delaware County pupils who visit the museum through their schools. Ohio Wesleyan student-intern Caroline O'Malley of Ashville, Ohio, is helping to prepare the artistic activities with advice from OWU 2010 graduate Whitney Farrell, an art teacher for Delaware City Schools.
As well as the K-5 field trips, the Art Bridges grant also enables the Ross to collaborate with OWU student clubs and organizations to continue themed activity nights related to the "Culture Push" exhibit and "Move" first-year seminar. The museum already has worked with the Indigenous Peoples Movement Club and with VIVA Latinx, and is planning an upcoming event with SLAM (Student Led Arts Movement) and the House of Black Culture, Yates said. He hopes to add more OWU student events before the exhibit concludes.
During the academic year, the Ross is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed March 8-16 for spring break. The museum is handicap-accessible and admission is always free. Call (740) 368-3606 or visit owu.edu/ross for more information.
About the Richard M. Ross Art Museum
Ohio Wesleyan's Ross Art Museum opened in fall 2002 with significant support from philanthropist Elizabeth M. Ross, now deceased. The museum features 2,986 square feet of exhibition space in four galleries, as well as offices and preparatory and storage spaces. Its permanent collection of more than 2,500 works includes artists such as Pablo Picasso, Frank Stella, and Alfred Stieglitz. The museum's mission is to mount exhibitions that support and enhance both the curriculum of the OWU Department of Fine Arts and the liberal arts teaching mission of the university. Learn more at owu.edu/ross.
About Art Bridges Foundation
Art Bridges Foundation is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. Founded in 2017, Art Bridges creates and supports projects that share works of American art with communities across the United States and its territories. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of more than 240 museums on nearly 900 projects—impacting 5.3 million people nationwide—to provide financial and strategic support for exhibitions, collection loans, and programs designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local communities. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices. For more information, visit artbridgesfoundation.org.
About Ohio Wesleyan University
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation's premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book "Colleges That Change Lives" and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review "Best Colleges" lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.