University of Virginia

Since 2003, the Kluge-Ruhe Collection has partnered with UVa’s Department of Anthropology to offer unique courses on Australian Aboriginal art and culture. From 2003 to 2005, Director and curator Margo Smith taught an intensive study and travel course called Exploring Indigenous Australia. This class combined lectures, tours, excursions, readings and independent sightseeing and research to help students develop a greater understanding of contemporary Aboriginal life.

In the Fall 2008 semester, Smith taught an undergraduate course exploring the intersection of anthropology, art and material culture in Australian Aboriginal art. Anthropology of Australian Aboriginal Art examines how Aboriginal art has moved from relative obscurity to global recognition over the past thirty years. Topics include the historical and cultural contexts of invention, production, marketing and appropriation of Aboriginal art. Students conduct research using the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection and Study Center. This course will be offered again in the Fall 2009.

Lifelong Learners

The Kluge-Ruhe Collection offers a course every spring for adults through UVa’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), formerly the Jefferson Institute for Lifelong Learning (JILL). Course topics have included: Australian Aboriginal Art and Culture, Australian Aboriginal History, The Avant-garde in Aboriginal Art, and Art and Culture of the Central Desert.

School and group tours

The Kluge-Ruhe Collection offers guided group tours by appointment. We can accommodate up to 40 people in the gallery for a one-hour tour led by our curators and docents. Outdoor tables are available in nice weather for picnic lunches. Contact the Kluge-Ruhe Collection to make tour arrangements for your group.

Children’s Programs

With each new exhibition we offer a children’s art program to introduce children ages 6 – 12 to Aboriginal art and the techniques used by Aboriginal artists. Art projects have include printmaking, “dot” painting, painting “hollow logs,” constructing and painting “bark” baskets, photography and collaborative painting combined with storytelling. Visiting Aboriginal artists Susan Marrawarr, Donna Brown, Fiona Omeenyo and Silas Hobson have participated in past programs. Artists from the Charlottesville community including Lee Alter, Edith Arbaugh, Joan Soderlund, and Rosamond Casey have led classes on watercolor techniques and book art. Check our calendar of events for upcoming children’s programs.