FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Crocker Art Museum
Launches Collection Online

New interactive website features more than
500 artworks from the Crocker’s collection

August 30, 2005 – Sacramento , Calif. – Today, the Crocker Art Museum launched its new, interactive website featuring more than 500 high-resolution images from the Crocker’s permanent collection. Digital Crocker, the new online gallery, will enable unprecedented access to the Crocker’s permanent collection, allowing visitors to view artworks that are rarely on display because of a lack of gallery space.

“The launching of the website and its focus on the Museum’s exhibitions and programs helps us fulfill our educational mission of providing a greater awareness, appreciation and understanding of the arts. Plus, it makes the Crocker accessible worldwide,” said Museum Director Lial Jones.

“Arts and cultural institutions like the Crocker Art Museum help define and strengthen our communities,” said U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), who officially unveiled the Digital Crocker today. “The Digital Crocker initiative provides access to an important cultural resource for all Californians, from students of all ages to the disabled.”

The website launch is the highlight of a three-year grant project funded by $500,000 from the SBC Foundation to digitally record and photograph the works in the Crocker’s collection.

"The SBC Foundation is pleased to support programs like these that work to enhance education through the innovative use of technology,” said Adam Grzybicki, SBC external affairs manager. “We are very proud to help the museum launch Digital Crocker, making this tremendous resource available to our local community and the worldwide art community.”  

“We are grateful for SBC Foundation’s leadership in helping us bring our important collection of Old Master drawings out of the vault and into the hands of students and scholars around the world,” Jones added.

In Digital Crocker, visitors can explore the galleries by searching for a specific work or by viewing the collection through six virtual tours: Early California Art, Contemporary California Art, European Paintings, Central European Drawings, Meissen Porcelain or American Art. The gallery also allows users to zoom in on artworks to explore minute details so that the web acts as a digital magnifying glass.

In addition to Digital Crocker, the new website includes many interactive elements and features the Crocker’s signature, award-winning design. Visitors to the new website will be able to find detailed yet concise information about the Crocker’s collections, special exhibitions and general Museum information that is both easily accessible and navigable. Visitors will have the ability to view upcoming events on a searchable calendar, sign-up to receive a monthly email newsletter tailored to their specific interests, and join or donate to the Museum online.

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The Crocker Art Museum was founded in 1885 and continues as the leading art institution for the California Capital Region and Central Valley. The Museum offers a diverse spectrum of special exhibitions, events and programs to augment its collections of Californian, European and Asian artworks. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday – Sunday; Thursday until 9 p.m. For more information on exhibits and events call (916) 264-5423 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.

The SBC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SBC Communications Inc. The SBC Foundation supports efforts that enrich and strengthen diverse communities nationwide, particularly those with an emphasis on education and technology and those that benefit underserved populations. SBC Foundation-backed programs are designed to increase access to information technologies, broaden technology training and professional skills development, and effectively integrate new technologies to enhance education and economic development. The Foundation Center has consistently ranked the SBC Foundation among the nation's top fifteen corporate foundations. In 2002, the SBC Foundation launched SBC Excelerator, a multimillion dollar competitive grants program that funds nonprofit organizations in their efforts to digitally connect communities.

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Media Contact: LeAnne R. Ruzzamenti
Media: (916) 264-1963
Mobile : (916) 213-9402
Public: (916) 264-5423
216 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
www.crockerartmuseum.org