With the opening of a substantial new museum of art at the University of Nevada, Reno and the School of the Arts, the inaugural exhibition of the newly named John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art will be one that contends with the authority of museum exhibition spaces while interrogating the mission and legacy of institutional collection and display practices. The first traveling exhibition, TERMA, IMAGES FROM THE EAR OR GROIN OR SOMEWHERE, proposes an imaginative concept of what a museum can become.

Curated by Stephanie Gibson in collaboration with Nevada Humanities, the exhibition features works by visual artist Sameer Farooq and poet Jared Stanley.

Farooq works as a visual artist, educator, designer and director. He aims to create community-based models of participation and knowledge production in order to re-imagine a material record of the present. He uses installation, photography, documentary filmmaking, writing and the methods of anthropology to explore various forms of collecting, interpreting and display.

Jared Stanley is the author of three full-length collections of poetry, "EARS," "The Weeds" and "Book Made of Forest," which won the Crashaw Prize for Poetry. His poetry and prose have appeared in many journals, and Stanley's awards include a Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame and fellowships from the Nevada Arts Council and the Center for Art + Environment. He is a lecturer for the University's Department of English.

To Have and To Hold is The Lilley's first permanent exhibition in the second-floor collection galleries. It is part of a two-year long exhibition featuring a selection of objects from the museum's diverse permanent collection of 5,500 works of art from the ancient world through today.

"I am so excited to share the amazing collection in the first collection gallery we have ever had since Craig Sheppard founded the exhibition program 60 years ago," Paul Baker Prindle, museum director, said. "It is a true privilege to hold the largest collection of art in Nevada in stewardship for its citizens and to do so as the only free art museum in northern Nevada."

An opening reception, sponsored by Great Basin Brewing Company, is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 25, from 6-9 p.m.

Museum-goers can walk south from the Brian J. Whalen Parking Complex along the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center quad or reach the museum through the skywalk connecting the Church Fine Arts Virginia Street entrance to the University Arts Building. The Lilley will be open ahead of the grand opening of the University Arts Building, which is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 22.

At a Glance
Sameer Farooq & Jared Stanley: Terma, Images from the Ear or Groin or Somewhere
Jan. 25-March 7
Reception: 6-9 p.m. Jan. 25
John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art
Artist gallery talk and panel: 2-3 p.m. Jan. 26, University Arts Building Atrium (Sponsored by Nevada Humanities)
Hours are Tuesday and Wednesday between noon and 4 p.m., Thursday and Fridays between noon and 8 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Sunday and Mondays.
Tickets: Free