Salisbury, MD – For the first time since 2022, portions of the Salisbury University carving collection will be accessible to the public thanks to a partnership between SU’s Museum of Eastern Shore Culture (MESC) and the Delmarva Discovery Museum in Pocomoke City, MD.
Decoys created by famed carvers Lem and Steve Ward, Oliver “Tuts” Lawson, Lloyd Tyler, Cigar Daisey and others will be displayed at the Worcester County facility, on loan from the SU museum.
“It’s partnerships like this that make our mission at the Museum of Eastern Shore Culture possible: to cultivate the preservation and expression of the cultural heritage and traditional arts of Delmarva’s various communities,” said Raye-Valion Gillette, MESC curator and folklife specialist.
Additional Lower Eastern Shore carvers represented by the loaned works of art include Ira Hudson, Grayson Chesser, Lloyd Sterling, Don Briddell, Charles Berry and Bennett Scott. A reception for the new exhibit is scheduled Friday, April 19, at the Delmarva Discovery Museum.
These pieces have not been displayed publicly since the closure of SU’s Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art following a catastrophic HVAC failure at the facility in July 2022.
“We are honored to have these incredible decoys on loan from the University and will proudly display them,” said Christy Gordon, executive director of the Delmarva Discovery Museum.
More carvings formerly housed at the Ward Museum will be on display at SU’s new Museum of Eastern Shore Culture at the Powell Building in downtown Salisbury upon its expected opening later this year. Others will be displayed throughout the Lower Eastern Shore as the MESC works to develop additional partnerships.
“The partnership with the Delmarva Discovery Museum is just the beginning,” said Alexandra Kean, MESC museum operations coordinator.
For more information about the Museum of Eastern Shore Culture at SU, visit www.museumofeasternshorecultureatsu.org. For more information about the Delmarva Discovery Museum, visit www.delmarvadiscoverycenter.org.
Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at www.salisbury.edu.
