Kamini Purushothaman, Contributing Photographer
With the snip of a ribbon on Saturday afternoon, the Yale Center for British Art inaugurated its official reopening, welcoming new exhibitions and a vision of community connection spanning both Yale and New Haven.
For the past two years, the YCBA has been under renovation, which has cost $16.5 million in total. The center reopened with more sustainable lighting and infrastructure and a reimagined presentation of its permanent collection.
Saturday’s ceremony featured remarks from Mayor Justin Elicker, University President Maurie McInnis and the YCBA’s recently appointed director, Martina Droth.
“The YCBA is not just a repository of art, but it’s a gateway to learning, to imagination, to opportunity — opening windows to new perspectives and possibilities for every child and every family,” McInnis said during her speech. “So today, more than just renew a building, let’s renew a cause: that Yale’s resources are here to serve our entire community, spark curiosity, to nurture creativity and to build bridges of understanding.”
The opening weekend’s festivities included drop-in activities, curator and student guide talks, a cappella performances and a preview of “The View From Here” exhibition, which features photographs taken by public high school students from the greater New Haven area from the program of the same name.
Bria Biney, a high school senior included in “The View From Here,” described the exhibition as an “incredible opportunity” and told the News that she plans to remain involved with the YCBA in the future.
She added that the program gave her a technical understanding of photography and taught her how to express “meaningful stories” through images.
“More than anything,” said Biney, “what made this program so special was the chance to share my work with the community, to see people connect with the stories behind my photos and interpret them in their own way.”
According to Biney, this sense of connection made reopening weekend all the more memorable.
Biney said that watching her friends, family and even total strangers come together to appreciate her and her peers’ photographs felt like a reflection of the YCBA’s broader values.
For Hannah Kinney, the head of education at the YCBA, this emphasis on community is exactly what she hopes to achieve through the center’s initiatives.
Kinney said she wants to bring the feelings of “comfort and belonging” that one might experience in a local library or community center to the YCBA, making it into a “third-space” of sorts.
Kinney’s department runs the “Yale in London” Spring and Summer programs, an adult art-making series and mentorship initiatives for postdocs, postgrads and graduate students.
Overseeing the curricular programs from kindergarten to undergraduate levels, Kinney said that the museum should be a “meeting point for diverse points of views.”
According to her, the YCBA has had “longstanding” programs for neurodiverse audiences. She is also currently working to develop programs for blind and low-vision individuals to enjoy the space.
Kinney also said she is working to expand how the collection can be used — not just to teach history and art history, but to pose larger questions to students.
Christina Ferando ’97, the YCBA’s head of academic affairs, is involved in that process.
“You don’t have to be only an art historian to find meaning in objects … and inquiry in objects,” Ferando said.
She recently held a panel called “Multiple Meanings,” which featured faculty and staff from the Office of Gender and Campus Culture; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and the Sexual Misconduct Committee who presented their interpretations and opinions on the works of art in the YCBA.
Additionally, she mentioned upcoming symposia open to the public and private meetings with faculty across disciplines to learn how they might engage with the collections. Ferando imagines the museum as both a contemplative and casual space that everyone in the community can benefit from during both longer visits and spontaneous trips to unwind.
“There is a certain joy in being able to pop into a free museum that’s open to all,” said Ferando.
During his speech, Mayor Justin Elicker also praised the museum for its free access, calling it a “gift” to New Haven. Praising the YCBA’s welcoming staff, he mentioned a recent visit to the space with his family.