In preparation for an international exhibit of more than fifty paintings and drawings of Tommaso Juglaris lent from private collections in northern Italy, the Michigan Historical Center in Lansing, Michigan prepared extensive interpretive materials. Thereafter displayed next to the Juglaris’s art works, the interpretative materials effectively highlighted the artist’s personal history, education, and artistic career. At the end of three months the exhibition, “Tommaso Juglaris: An Artist Between Europe and America,” closed at the Michigan Historical Center. Many of Juglaris’s art works have since been re-shown in a more recent exhibition, “Juglaris e Piovano: Il Maestro e l’Allievo” (Juglaris and Piovano: The Master and The Student), hosted in Moncalieri, Italy, Juglaris’s hometown, in May 2017. However, English-language interpretive materials from the earlier international exhibition remained in Lansing and were preserved for subsequent use. In fact, still intact, they serve as attractive stand-alone exhibit commemorating Juglaris’s role Michigan’s Capitol Artist and as the inspired artist of the Franklin Public Library murals and friezes.
In 2013, the interpretive materials became the center of a fresh traveling exhibition, “Artist and Muses: Tommaso Juglaris and the Italian Legacy at the Michigan State Capitol.” Sponsored by the Juglaris Public Commission, the Dante Alighieri Society, and the Italian Consulate in Detroit, the traveling exhibition became a signal event for “The Year of Italian Culture in the United States.” With the assistance of Marcon Exhibits of Canton Township, the exhibition was successively hosted by the Italian American Club of Livonia, the Italian American Society of Clinton Township, and the Venetian Club of Madison Heights. The exhibition opening garnered significant media attention. FIAT Chrysler Communications filmed the opening. The story behind Michigan’s Capitol artist was featured on the nightly news in Metro Detroit.
A traveling display sharing the story of Tommaso Juglaris continues to be available under the auspices of the Juglaris Publication Commission. Interested organizations are encouraged to contact the Juglaris Publication Commission for more information.
