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Early drawing of the Jepson Center from the building's architect, Moshe Safdie
Early drawing of the Jepson Center from the building's architect, Moshe Safdie

Jepson Center: History and Harmony

 

After a century of collecting, exhibiting, and educating Savannah and its visitors about art, history, and architecture, Telfair Museums’ Director and Board of Trustees identified the need for a new, larger facility. Their primary objectives were to increase the capacity for traveling exhibitions, continue an emphasis on education and community involvement, and increase archival storage for a growing collection. The museums’ Board of Directors envisioned a building representative of its time but also open, welcoming, and inviting. They also understood that, in a National Historic Landmark District, it would be challenging to express these ideals in architecture.

Five internationally recognized architectural firms presented their ideas to the trustees in 1998. The trustees unanimously chose Moshe Safdie and Associates. Safdie offered an outstanding international track record of responsible, compelling designs in historic settings, and he excited them with his passion about the possibilities of the new project. Safdie also offered a clear and stimulating vision of a building that would harmonize with its surroundings and welcome the community.

What nobody envisioned was a two-year controversy surrounding the proposed project as the design team made its case before Savannah’s Historic Review Board. Only the passion and dedication of countless individuals enabled the grand vision for the Jepson Center to endure, providing Savannah with a truly iconic structure that, in the words of Safdie, is “vital, contemporary, appropriate to the expression of art to come … and a building you cannot conceive of anywhere else but Savannah.”

Exhibitions

#art912, N/um

Jepson Center
N/um is a site-specific installation by Savannah and New York City-based artist Tafy LaPlanche (American, b. 1991) for the 2022 iteration of Telfair Museums’ Boxed in/Break Out project to activate the public-facing windows at the Jepson Center on Barnard Street.

Anything Goes: Contemporary Art and Materials

Jepson Center
This exhibition considers artists across divides of geography, privilege, formal education, and access who have continued to explore materiality and its potential for aesthetic invention and the construction of meaning.

Photography’s Last Century: The Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee Collection

Jepson Center
This exhibition traces the emergence of photography as a cornerstone modern art practice, following its evolution and many expressive possibilities across the last one hundred years. It will showcase more than 80 masterpiece photographs by some of the medium's key innovators, from Walker Evans and Helen Levitt to Diane Arbus, Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, and Mickalene Thomas.

Bold Expressions: The Collection of Lorlee and Arnold Tenenbaum

Jepson Center
Bold Expressions: The Collection of Lorlee and Arnold Tenenbaum celebrates collecting and living with original works of art through a presentation of the collection of the late Lorlee and Arnold Tenenbaum. Remembered for their business acumen, love of community, and generous philanthropic efforts, the Tenenbaums were deeply invested in art and education, which extended to their colossal efforts to raise funds to construct Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center.

Telfair Children’s Art Museum – Opening at the Jepson Center in 2023

 

The Telfair Children’s Art Museum will address a significant need identified through our strategic planning process to provide an updated museum experience that offers our members, visitors, and our local school communities transformative learning experiences for all ages and styles of learning using modern technologies, immersive environments, and low-tech and hands-on activities. The new Children’s Art Museum will also serve as a major attraction for the thousands of visitors to our area, and for local families and school children seeking educational experiences that address the needs and expectations of contemporary audiences.

#art912

#art912 is an initiative dedicated to raising the visibility and promoting the vitality of artists living and working in Savannah through exhibition opportunities, public programs, and outreach.

Exhibition Opportunities

Boxed In/Break Out Artists are invited to submit proposals for a public art installation in the windows of the Jepson Center that face Barnard Street.

#art912 on Social Media

Telfair Museums encourages anyone who is making art, looking at art, or talking about art in Savannah to use #art912 on any social media platform to talk about art or artists in Savannah.

Upcoming #art912 Events

#art912: ookee Exhibition Opening & Artist Talk with Duff Woon Yong

March 30 at 6pm Jepson Center
Join us for an exhibition preview and artist talk by Duff Woon Yong! Yong will share insights on his artistic journey, from his upbringing in Singapore, to his career as an educator in Savannah, to his first solo exhibition at Telfair, ookee.
Mailing Address
Telfair Museums
PO Box 10081
Savannah, GA 31412
Phone Number
912.790.8800
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