SAVANNAH, GA – November 14, 2023 – Telfair Museums is slated to open its newest exhibition ‘Shattered Illusions: Reconsidering Glassware through the Lens of Care’ on Nov. 24 at the Jepson Center, located at 207 W. York St, Savannah, GA 31401. This exhibition will feature objects from Telfair’s permanent collection of colored, etched, and cut glass and will be on display in the Levitt and Varnedoe Galleries until June 30, 2024.
In the groundbreaking exhibition, viewers will consider the labor behind the continual preservation of luxurious glassware owned by upper-class Savannahians in the 19th century, often acquired through accumulated wealth credited to the exploitation of enslaved and domestic labor. The pieces, passed down through generations of wealthy Savannahians, have been disconnected from the generations of the enslaved and domestic labor behind caring for them. Rather than focusing on the allure of these glittery objects, Shattered Illusions will reframe the glassware as the subjects of those individuals’ care.
“This exhibition takes a different approach to looking at decorative arts. In addition to highlighting the glassware’s beauty, it draws attention to the work of the people, primarily of African descent, who cared for these objects,” Ahmauri Williams-Alford, Assistant Curator of Historical Interpretation
For more information regarding the upcoming exhibitions and accompanying events, please visit telfair.org.
About Telfair Museums
Opening in 1886, Telfair Museums is the oldest public art museum in the South and the first U.S. museum founded by a woman. The museum features a world-class art collection in the heart of Savannah’s National Historic Landmark District and encompasses three sites: the Jepson Center for the Arts, the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, and the Telfair Academy. For more information about Telfair Museums, please visit www.telfair.org.
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