The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers invites art lovers to come together this winter during a variety of free virtual programs on Zimmerli at Home.
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The museum building remains closed to the public and in-person programs are suspended until further notice.
Two free film series are being offered in conjunction with the recent Zimmerli exhibition Everyday Soviet: Soviet Industrial Design and Nonconformist Art (1959-1989), which was co-curated with the Moscow Design Museum.
The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!, a 1976 Soviet screwball romantic comedy, streams for free on Zimmerli at Home from Dec. 26 through Jan. 3. One of the most successful Soviet television productions of all time, it has become a New Year’s Eve tradition in Russia. An undertone of social criticism about the drab uniformity of Brezhnev-era architecture, furniture, and everyday items reveals the particularities of Soviet daily life, as the characters find themselves in curious and absurd situations shaped by their living environments. The film also addresses universal themes of love, betrayal and friendship within the unique setting of the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
Directed by Eldar Ryazanov, The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! is in Russian with English subtitles and presented in two parts (a total of three hours). It is screened with permission from Mosfilm.
In addition, two live programs are offered with the co-curators, Julia Tulovsky, curator of Russian and Soviet Nonconformist Art at the Zimmerli, and Alexandra Sankova, director of the Moscow Design Museum, and special guests. They are joined by Thymen Kouwenaar, political counsellor at the Dutch Embassy in Moscow, for an introduction to the film on Dec. 26 at 4 p.m.; and by Russian actor and director Evgeniy Tsymbal for a Q&A on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. Visit go.rutgers.edu/irony for details and registration information.
On Thursdays in January, view the film series The History of Russian Design. Beginning at 4 p.m. on Jan. 7, 14, 21 and 28, each 20-minute episode of the documentary is followed by a live Q&A with Everyday Soviet co-curators Julia Tulovsky, Curator of Russian and Soviet Nonconformist Art at the Zimmerli, and Alexandra Sankova, Director of the Moscow Design Museum. Details and registration information will be posted on go.rutgers.edu/zimmerlievents in late December.
Art Together offers free family art activities either live on Zoom or recorded on Zimmerli at Home. Join upcoming sessions on Jan. 2 and Feb. 6. Register (up to the program start time) at go.rutgers.edu/arttogether. Artists of all ages are welcome, but sessions are best suited for ages 5-13, joined by their grown-ups.
Recorded sessions are posted on Zimmerli at Home, including projects inspired by still life and collage works in the museum’s collection, as well as the exhibition Mood Books: The Children’s Stories of Alvin Tresselt and Roger Duvoisin.
First Tuesday programming for Art Before/After Hours returns on Feb. 2. Recordings of previous events are available on Zimmerli at Home Videos, including programming that marked Day With(out) Art/World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. The Zimmerli hosted a Zoom panel discussion about the historical and contemporary intersections of HIV/AIDS advocacy and the arts, with a special emphasis on the role the museum’s late director Thomas Sokolowski played. In addition, a new documentary short about Sokolowski, One Singular Sensation created by Rutgers alumnus Samuel Vladimirsky, is available.
News regarding operations will be posted on the museum’s home page. For Rutgers updates, visit Universitywide COVID-
