Ward Museum name change draws criticism from past volunteers, donors
SALISBURY, Md. – Salisbury University has announced that the new location of the Ward Museum will open its doors this summer, but not with the same name.
What was once the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art will now be known as the Museum of Eastern Shore Culture, Salisbury University (SU) officials announced in a press release Friday. The new museum will be located on the first floor of the Powell Building on W. Main St., just adjacent to SU Downtown in Salisbury.
The change in location comes nearly a year after controversy hit a fever-pitch among donors and volunteers who were in vehement opposition to SU’s decision to move the museum from its longtime location at Schumaker Pond. The move of the museum came after a prolonged failure of the building’s HVAC system caused the spread of surface mold on carvings and other pieces of artwork.
Now, almost a year after announcing that the museum would be moved, the latest announcement of the museum’s new name has some past donors and volunteers speaking out, frustrated over the decision to remove Ward from the name altogether.
“I think it’s bland, unimaginative, and non-specific,” explained Dr. John Juriga, a longtime donor and volunteer of the Ward Museum. “It disregards the art aspect of Wildfowl Art and the aspect that the Ward Museum has contributed as a cultural hub to the Salisbury area for the last 50 years.”
Dr. Juriga said he feels the change in name disregards the diverse type of artwork that was once showcased at the Ward Museum.
“The Ward Museum had been a major venue for all types of artwork, wildfowl art, flatwork, sculptures, bronzes,” Dr. Juriga emphasized. “The new name from SU totally disregards that aspect.”
That same sentiment was shared by Meg Marcarelli, the daughter of the Ward Museum’s first curator, Dan Brown. She tells us her late father would be so disappointed.
“Oh my gosh, he would be so upset and so incredibly disappointed by what they’ve done,” Marcarelli explained. “His image of the museum was like so many others, it was all about this artform, all about the Ward brothers who got it really started and made it famous, so for them not to even include the name in the title of this museum, is just gut wrenching.”
In the announcement sent out last week, SU officials stressed that the Ward Brothers and the art they created are quote “an integral part of the heritage of the Eastern Shore.”
When the museum opens it will feature a permanent display dedicated to the legacy of the two world-renowned artists from Crisfield, Lem and Steve Ward.
“Out of respect to the continuing efforts of the Ward Foundation, which founded the Ward Museum in 1992 and partnered with SU to operate the facility after its assets were transferred to the University in 2000, SU is not carrying over the ‘Ward’ name to the new space,” Salisbury University stated in their press release.
“The Ward Brothers and the art they created are an integral part of the heritage of the Eastern Shore,” said Raye-Valion Gillette, curator and folklife specialist of the Museum of Eastern Shore Culture and former curator of the Ward Museum.
“It is important for us to recognize their contributions while also expanding the scope of the new space to include aspects of local culture beyond wildfowl art,” added Alexandra Kean, museum operations coordinator of the Museum of Eastern Shore Culture and previous interim deputy director of the Ward Foundation.
Artwork from the former Ward Museum will be on display on a rotating basis, as they were at their former home, SU officials emphasized in their announcement. Partnership agreements are also being put in place with several area arts and cultural organizations to display select pieces of the collection, according to SU who also emphasized that items that are not on display will be kept in climate-controlled storage.
The museum is set to open its doors sometime this summer. Admission to the museum will be free.
