Like many of you, we’ve been watching the developments surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and have seen the troubling news that the spread continues at an explosive rate, resulting in record numbers of cases. Taking that trend into account, and following the recent guidance of the Governor and state and local health officials, we have made the decision to cancel all previously scheduled public events and close the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio's buildings to the public beginning Friday, November 20 at 4 PM. 
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and determine a reopening date when appropriate. While our staff has taken extensive precautions to make visits as safe as possible, these discouraging developments only signal that this temporary closure is best for everyone’s health and safety.
We are so excited to share with you the amazing exhibits that were scheduled to open this weekend, Russian Decorative Arts from the Tsars to the USSR and A Russian Christmas, this year’s version of our always popular holiday display. Please know that in the absence of in-person experiences, we will continue to provide to our membership and community a wide selection of virtual experiences, both via our website and social media. This will include curator tours, talks by experts, arts education programs, related materials on our blog, and other unique and exciting opportunities we are actively working to develop in response to the undeniable realities we all face. Please see below for virtual tours of our exhibitions. 
The health, safety, and well-being of our guests, supporters, and community are our highest priority. We appreciate your patience, flexibility, and understanding during these challenging times.
We deeply appreciate your support, and we can’t wait to welcome you back to DACO, in-person, as soon as we are able.

Take care and best regards,
​Jason Crabill, Executive Director

Current Exhibition

Russian Decorative Arts from the Tsars to the USSR
Michael Reese, Curator
 2020 - February 28, 2021
Be transported to the Russia of decades past. From the decadence of the tsars to the destitute communist-rule years, Russian history is filled with contradictions. During the Bolshevik Revolution, a significant amount of Russian-made art was destroyed, lost, or taken from the country. Curator Michael Reese has acquired an incredible personal collection of Russian art from that period that he is now sharing for the first time at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio. From decades of collecting Russian decorative arts, commissioning works from USSR artists, and exploring Russia's vast territories, Reese takes us on a visual journey through Russian history from the time of the tsars to the fall of the USSR. The exhibition paints a clear decorative picture of what it was like to live in Russia during those tumultuous times. Featured objects tell stories of wealth and poverty, political struggle, fashion, and religion. 

Support for the exhibition provided by The Fox Foundation, Inc. and The Johns Family  
Curator's Talk

Join Curator Michael Reese as he talks about his collection and Russian Decorative Arts from the Tsars to the USSR
Russian Fashion Curator Tour
Gayle Strege, Curator of the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection at Ohio State University, talks about the clothing included in the exhibition.
A Russian Christmas
George and Jeanne Johnson, Curators
2020 - January 8, 2021
Once again, the Christmas display by George and Jeanne Johnson will reflect the current exhibition. The Rising Room boasts a tree filled with Christopher Radko decorations, the hall exhibits Russian-made decorations, and the Double Parlors become a Siberian forest with aluminum trees that reflect the US - USSR space race of the 1960s. The Lower Level Gallery displays Christmas decorations made in post-WWII Soviet Bloc countries. 
Christmas Curator Talk

Join Curator Dr. George Johnson as he shares his personal insights on A Russian Christmas. 
Spotlight
From the massive archives of the Ohio History Connection, the Spotlight mini-installation will rotate every six months in the parlors of the Reese-Peters House. ​Our current exhibition features Hall China Company tea services from the 1940s. 
Images courtesy of the Ohio History Connection H 87695_002 and H 87706

Exhibition Programming

Historian Talk: Russia in War and Revolution
Sunday, January 10
2:00 pm
Virtual presentation
$5
Join Professor Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Ph.D, for a look at the end of tsarist Russia, from the savage destruction of the First World War, to the 1917 Revolutions, the Civil War, and the establishment of Bolshevik power and the world's first communist society. Registrants will be emailed a link for the presentation a few days in advance of the event. 

Upcoming Exhibitions

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Distinctly Paramount: Fashion & Costume
From the Paramount Pictures Archive
June 5, 2021 - January 2, 2022

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Previous Exhibitions

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2 + 3 x 18: Diptychs and Triptychs by 18 Contemporary Ohio Artists
July 18 - October 25, 2020