El Greco exhibition in Durham trotted out in English, Spanish

This just goes to show how Latinas/os are transforming the demographics of certain pockets in the South and beyond.
-Dr. Louie F. Rodriguez
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Posted on Thu, Sep. 04, 2008
Museum reaches out to Hispanics
El Greco exhibition in Durham trotted out in English, SpanishBy Martha WaggonerThe Associated Press
The Nasher Museum of Art is reaching out to North Carolina's burgeoning Hispanic population in an unprecedented way, providing information for its exhibition, "El Greco to Velazquez," in both Spanish and English.
The Nasher is providing English and Spanish versions of its audio guide, label text and text panels in Spanish for the exhibition, "El Greco to Velazquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III." A Spanish-language brochure is at the printer, and a portion of the Web site is in Spanish.
"We just view it as a great chance to present an exhibition that is readily accessible to a wide population, but hopefully, with the fact that it's Spanish art and we're doing things bilingually, there's an extra appeal to the Spanish-speaking community," said Juline Chevalier, curator of education at the Nasher.
The El Greco exhibit, which continues through Nov. 9, covers the years 1598 to 1621, marking El Greco's late career and Velazquez's apprenticeship years. Included in the 52 paintings are seven works from El Greco, three by Velazquez and others from artists who came in between such as Gregorio Fernandez, Juan Bautista Maino, Luis Tristan and Juan Sanchez Cotan. Three sculptures and about 50 decorative objects complete the exhibition.
"This is an opportunity to look at art that spoke to the roots of the Hispanic community," said Andrea Bazan, co-chairman of the El Greco advisory committee that the 3-year-old museum formed.
Hispanics offer a new and growing market in North Carolina. Census Bureau figures released in May showed that 638,444 Hispanics lived in North Carolina as of July 1, 2007, a 66.5 percent increase over July 1, 2000, when that number was 383,359.
But Bazan said she believed she was the only one of the committee's 26 members who had visited the museum before the committee was formed. The outreach was an extension of general conversations between Bazan and Kimerly Rorschach, the museum's director, Bazan said.
"The purpose was to make sure the exhibit was accessible to this community and to make sure it's not just a one-time outreach, but that it's long-lasting," said Bazan, president of the Triangle Community Foundation, a Durham-based charitable foundation.
The foundation purchased 600 tickets, which cost $15 each, to donate to community groups. The exhibit marks the first time the Nasher has charged for tickets.
Until now, the Nasher has provided only some educational and family day materials in Spanish, said Nasher spokeswoman Wendy Hower Livingston.
The museum plans to provide bilingual materials for other exhibits, Livingston said. The museum plans to provide bilingual materials for as many future exhibits as possible, she said, including, "Escultura Social: A New Generation of Art from Mexico City." That show opens Jan. 15, 2009.