Possible Worlds: 20 Years of the Wynn Newhouse Awards
Joe and Emily Lowe Galleries
January 20-May 9, 2026
This landmark exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of the Wynn Newhouse Award, a pioneering initiative that has recognized and elevated artists of excellence who happen to live with disabilities. Established in 2006 by Wynn Newhouse, the award has championed bold, boundary-defying voices in contemporary art—highlighting practices that are as varied in form as they are unified in vision: a vision of art as a space where representation, identity, and access are not peripheral concerns, but central to the discourse.
At the heart of the exhibition is a curatorial inquiry: How do artists with disabilities navigate the art world—and the world at large—on their terms? And how does that navigation inform their work, influence its reception, and expand the field of cultural production? The goal is not to position disability as a central or singular theme, but to acknowledge it as one of many intersecting conditions—of body, mind, culture, history—that inform artistic practice. In doing so, this exhibition prompts us to reconsider who gets seen, whose experiences shape the canon, and how institutions can create more equitable conditions for artistic participation and recognition.
Exhibiting artists include Beverly Baker, Derrick Alexis Coard, Courttney Cooper, Joseph Grigley, Em Kettner, Reverend Joyce McDonald, William Scott, Kambel Smith, Katz Tepper, Melvin Way, and Peter Williams.
The exhibition is curated by Daniel Fuller G’04 (Museum Studies, College of Visual and Performing Arts).
Generous support for this exhibition and related programs is provided by the Joe and Emily Lowe Fund, Louise B. and Bernard G. Palitz Fund; the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, and the Center on Disability and Inclusion in the School of Education.
Undressed: The Nude in Dutch Art, circa 1550-1800
James F. White Gallery
March 17-May 9, 2026
This exhibition, encompassing twenty-one works in various media, surveys the portrayal of nudity and semi-nudity in a variety of subjects rendered by Dutch artists over several centuries. It will explore how the nude has been articulated, both artistically and contextually, to disrupt traditional ideas of nudity in art, which were primarily argued by Sir Kenneth Clark in The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form (1956).
In this influential text, Clark posited that the presence of the nude in art, existed above and beyond cultural circumstances, as a timeless, almost abstract ideal. He advanced a distinction between "naked" and "nude," with the latter explained as an idealization, or an evocation of timeless ideals. To the contrary, this exhibition presents nudity in art as a phenomenon that is time-bound and culturally determined.
This exhibition is curated by Wayne Franits (Distinguished Professor and Department Chair, Art and Music Histories) and the eight senior Art History majors enrolled in the Fall 2025 course HOA 498: Senior Seminar, Research and Professional Practice.
New In: Recent Acquisitions at the Syracuse University Art Museum
Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery
February 9 - June 4, 2026
Highlighting a selection of new additions to the Syracuse University Art Museum's collection, this exhibition will explore how we use these artworks to support the University's teaching and research mission and to create experiential learning opportunities for students.