Programs, Learning Guides, Signage Offered in Spanish and English
New Brunswick, N.J. (July 22, 2025)—Dynamic programs and wayfinding signage presented in Spanish and English are only the beginning of the Bilingual Museum initiative, which increases access and inclusivity for visitors to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University—New Brunswick. Staff members have reduced barriers by transforming the Zimmerli into a more fully bilingual institution by translating gallery labels, signage and other written materials throughout the museum, offering the popular Último Domingo (Last Sunday) and a Día de los Muertos (Day of Dead) celebration, as well as its Zimmerli Mobile outreach initiative into New Brunswick neighborhoods.
“Our mission is to create a welcoming environment that also dismantles invisible barriers traditionally standing between art institutions and the communities they serve,” Zimmerli director Maura Reilly said. “With the Zimmerli in a very diverse city—comprised of 46% Latinx people, and with a public school system that reports 92% Latinx students—our aim is to bridge the gap between our museum and our Spanish-speaking neighbors.”
Since 2021, the Zimmerli’s major special exhibitions and the children’s gallery have been presented in English and Spanish. In 2024, the museum expanded its bilingual materials throughout the building to include: labels in permanent galleries and smaller rotating exhibitions, wayfinding and general information signage, educational materials and promotional materials, such as program postcards. In addition, membership, public relations and advertising materials are composed in English and Spanish.
On site at the Zimmerli, bilingual programs have been popular among participants of all ages, many of whom are New Brunswick residents:
- During select months in the Fall and Spring semesters, Último Domingo (Last Sunday) celebrates art and culture in Spanish and English by bringing together campus and New Brunswick communities to enjoy an evolving range of cultural activities, including exhibitions, artmaking, artist talks, music and interactive performances.
- Día de los Muertos (Day of Dead) is an annual observance of this holiday with vibrant altars (ofrendas) and traditional art and objects. The spiritual and celebratory aspects of activities provide an opportunity to explore themes of memory, life and death, offering rich narratives of family and community bonds.
- Cafecito (little coffee) is an internal program that encourages staff members to more fully understand and connect with the museum’s Spanish-speaking audiences. The series includes cultural awareness workshops that explore the history, values, traditions and social dynamics of different cultures within the New Brunswick community and beyond, as well as opportunities to learn Spanish.
The Bilingual Museum extends beyond the building’s walls with Zimmerli Mobile, an outreach initiative that brings the museum to New Brunswick residents in their own neighborhoods. These off-site programs foster partnerships with local organizations—such as the New Brunswick Free Public Library and early childhood education centers—and include a range of activities aimed at engaging the diverse populations in locations that are integral in their daily lives. Programs vary in theme, typically including artmaking activities and learning guides in both English and Spanish. Through this collaborative and creative approach, Zimmerli Mobile has strengthened the museum's ties with the local community and increased residents’ access to its programs and exhibitions.
The Zimmerli also has incorporated tech resources that provide multilingual resources for visitor engagement. Rutgers University provides a widget on the museum’s website that auto-translates all content into Spanish. The Zimmerli is featured on Bloomberg Connects, a mobile app through which anyone can access the museum’s exhibitions and collections: anytime, anywhere. Via Google Translate, the app translates content into nearly 50 available languages.
Supported by a three-year $560,000 grant from Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All initiative, the Zimmerli launched the multi-tiered Bilingual Museum project in the fall of 2024. The new and expanded offerings have resulted in increased audience engagement, expanded visitor services, more meaningful collaborations with campus and community partners, and additional internship and employment opportunities for Rutgers students.
Reilly added, “Starting this fall, Bilingual Museum events will be featured on posters on New Jersey Transit train platforms as we expand outreach with the message ‘Your Museum, Your Language.’ We invite residents from across the state to connect with our neighbors in New Brunswick and enjoy the rich cultural experiences that our city offers.”
ABOUT ART BRIDGES FOUNDATION
Art Bridges Foundation is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. The mission of Art Bridges is to expand access to American art in all regions across the United States. Since 2017, Art Bridges has been creating and supporting programs that bring outstanding works of American art out of storage and into communities. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of over 250 museums and cultural organizations to provide financial, strategic, and logistical support for exhibitions, collection loans, and programming designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local communities. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices. For more information, visit artbridgesfoundation.org.
ZIMMERLI ART MUSEUM|RUTGERS
The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum houses more than 70,000 works of art, with strengths in the Art of the Americas, European Art, Soviet Nonconformist Art and Arts of Eurasia, and Original Illustrations for Children's Literature. The permanent collections include works in all mediums, spanning from antiquity to the present day, providing representative examples of the museum’s research and teaching message at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, which stands among America’s highest-ranked, most diverse public research universities. Founded in 1766, as one of only nine colonial colleges established before the American Revolution, Rutgers is the nation’s eighth-oldest institution of higher learning.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Admission is free to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers. The museum is located at 71 Hamilton Street (at George Street) on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The Zimmerli is a short walk from the NJ Transit train station in New Brunswick, midway between New York City and Philadelphia.
The Zimmerli Art Museum is open Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The museum is closed Monday and Tuesday, as well as major holidays and the month of August. For the most current information, including parking and accessibility, visit zimmerli.rutgers.edu.
SUPPORT
The Zimmerli’s operations, exhibitions, and programs are funded in part by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and income from the Avenir Endowment Fund and the Andrew W. Mellon Endowment Fund. Additional support comes from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the donors, members, and friends of the museum.
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