Worcester Art Museum takes veil off 'Knights!'
Photo/Matt Volpini
Armor from the Higgins collection at Worcester Art Museum
The second life for the Higgins Armory Museum collection begins Friday.
The Worcester Art Museum will debut roughly 100 of the Higgins’ 2,000-piece collection of arms and armor from throughout the world in Knights!, which adds a unique touch from the art museum to make the exhibit appeal to a broader audience.
“Integrating the Higgins collection allows us to build on our creative programming and community engagement, and is an incredible opportunity to develop a new approach” to presenting the pieces, museum director Matthias Waschek said in a statement.
The exhibit, shown Wednesday to members of the media, includes modern elements, a room for young children and “Courtly Pursuits,” the first section of the exhibit, in which patrons get an artistic view of the romanticized world of a royal court, which involved power struggles.
Another section, The Dance of Love and War, focuses on the role of women and their relationships with their knights, which shows the fragility of peace and its coexistence with war.
A third section, Knights of the Round Table, features 13 helmets on display from different eras, places and cultures. The twist is that the round table is overseen not by King Arthur, of British medieval lore, but by – and here’s one of the modern elements – a life-size Batman, the “dark knight,” given to WAM by the Petersen museum in Los Angeles, according to Waschek.
The children’s room, Helmutt’s House, named for the Higgins’ canine mascot, is set off in a corner of the 4,000-square-foot exhibition area. It features large pillows where children can relax while they read, color, play games or try on costumes and armor. It and other parts of the exhibit feature the image of Helmuttt.
One of the museum’s goals in preparing Knights! was to “mix different audiences without alienating anybody,” Waschek said, especially children, who were a key demographic at the Higgins, which closed at the end of last year.
And having Batman in the room makes the exhibit “trans-historical,” helping to draw people who might not otherwise come to a museum, added Waschek, who hopes to add “Catwoman” to the exhibit.
“We try to (add) women as much as we can,” he said.
The Friday opening of Knights! will include a party featuring music, cash bars and performances. On Saturday and Sunday, visitors will be able to see the museum’s Renaissance Faire, which will include demonstrations, food and hands-on activities.
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