From the Field

Art Museum Day is May 18

April 9, 2013

For the fourth year, AAMD is uniting its membership to celebrate Art Museum Day. Held in concert with  ICOM’s International Museum Day, this year AAMD’s Art Museum Day will take place on Saturday, May 18. ICOM’s theme for 2013 is “museums (memory + creativity) = social change.”

In 2012, approximately 125 member museums offered free admission and special programs and events in an international celebration of the importance of museums in our world.


Many AAMD members will offer free or reduced admission and special programs on or around May 18. AAMD also encourages museum visitors to use social media to share their Art Museum Day experiences with their museum and with their social networks.

Huffington Post: AAMD Executive Director Chris Anagnos on Art Museum Day 2012

Image: For Art Museum Day 2012, the Denver Art Museum offered a tactile program for the blind and visually impaired. Image courtesy of the Denver Art Museum.

 

AAMD Member Museums Celebrating Art Museum Day 2013

Following is a list of AAMD member museums participating in Art Museum Day 2013. Note that while ICOM’s International Museum Day is formally held each year on May 18, some institutions shift their celebrations to adjacent dates.

*Free Admission including special exhibitions
**Free general admission, not including special exhibitions
†Celebrating Art Museum Day on a date other than May 18


Alabama

Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham*
20% discount in museum store
25% off all memberships
11am - 1pm: Bart's Cart in Bart's Artventure,  Spring into May with a 3D flower still-life (drop-in activities for kids and families)
11am" Bart's Books, The Little House (Geared for ages 4-7)
12pm & 1pm" Docent-led tours

Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art, Auburn*
Exhibition Opening: Tamarind Touchstones: Fabulous at Fifty – Celebrating Excellence in Fine Art Lithography
Exhibition Closing: The Painter's Subjects: Landscape, Figure, Still Life – Selected Works from the Collection of Dwight and Helen Carlisle

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL*

Arizona

Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix
Visitors to the Phoenix Art Museum, The Children's Museum of Phoenix and the Heard Museum will receive free entry to the other two museums.

Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson*

Arkansas

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville*
Extended hours: open 11am to 11pm
After 6pm, free admission to temporary exhibition American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell
Museum, talks/tours, art making, and movement/meditation classes throughout the day - more information available here

California

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco**
The Museum will offer a range of educational and public programming for Art Museum Day including a film screening, art-making activities for children and families, and cultural performances.
Art Museum Day coincides with the 8th Annual Asian Heritage Street Festival, taking place on Larkin Street adjacent to the Museum.

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley* †
The BAM/PFA galleries will be open free of charge on Friday, May 17, 2013. We invite you to explore the galleries, and get a preview of the 43rd Annual University of California, Berkeley Master of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition, featuring the work of six promising new artists.

Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento †
Pay-what-you-wish admission on May 19
Show the Love Weekend: Upon admission, each visitor will be given a paper heart with instructions to place it in front of a work of art that they love.

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco*†
Free admission at both the de Young Museum of Art and the Legion of Honor on Friday, May 17.

Hammer Museum, Los Angeles*
Free admission May 18-19
Docents roaming the galleries from 11am-3pm
Public tour at 2pm

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford*

J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles*

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
$5 off general admission

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego*
Free gift for anyone who becomes a member

Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach*
10% off at the Museum Store, 10% off at Café Viva and 25% off Family Memberships

Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs*
1pm Docent tour of Beg Borrow and Steal

San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego*
Members, bring a friend: when a members brings a friend who signs up for membership, the member will receive a 3 month extension of their membership and the new member will receive 10% discount.
Tours in English and Spanish
Extended hours
Interactive comment table

San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose
$10 off memberships
Free postcard for the first 100 visitors

Timken Museum of Art, San Diego*
Free catalog with membership purchase over $100
11am: Family program: Storyteller and art making activities, ages five and up

Colorado

Aspen Art Museum, Aspen*
Discounts in the Museum Shop

Denver Art Museum, Denver †
Thursday, May 23: Art and About Tour (for visitors with dementia and their caregivers) focused on the museum’s special exhibition Cover Story

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver
$1 admission
Museum tailgating at the Denver Art Museum with pregame art videos from 11 am -1 pm.

Connecticut

Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford*
Docent tours
Free family programming

Yale Center for British Art, New Haven*

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven*
Visitors will receive a free copy of the December 2012 Yale University Art Gallery commemorative magazine profiling the Museum’s completed expansion and renovation project.

Delaware

Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington*

Washington, DC

Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens
Future 2-for-1 admission for the upcoming exhibition Living Artfully: At  Home with Marjorie Merriweather Post, from June 8, 2013 to January 12, 2014.

National Museum of African Art*
"I visit my art museum because..." visitor engagement activity

National Museum of Women in the Arts*

The Phillips Collection*

Florida

Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach*
Fantasy Theatre Factory performance at 3pm  of Gordon Gumshoe – Fantasy Detective

Lowe Art Museum, Coral Gables*

Miami Art Museum, Miami
Docent-led tours of New Work Miami 2013 and Frames of Reference at 2pm and 3pm

Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale*

Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando
Extended Hours on May 18
Shop and membership discounts
Special tours
Family art-making activities

Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville*
Early kick-off on May 9, 6-9pm
Special tour with director Rebecca Nagy
Childrens’ tour
10% discount in museum shop

Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa
Half-price Admission on May 18
Visitors who purchase half-price admission may apply the 50% savings towards a new membership on that day.

The Dali Museum, St. Petersburg
Free admission to Contemporary Magic: A Tarot Deck Art Project and accompanying panel discussion

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota*

The Wolfsonian, Miami Beach*

Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach

Georgia

Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries, Atlanta*

Georgia Museum of Art, Athens*
Art and Social Change tour, 2pm

High Museum of Art, Atlanta*

Michael C. Carlos Museum, Atlanta
50% off admission

Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta

Telfair Museums, Savannah
1-4pm: $5 single-site admission to the Jepson Center from 1-4 pm
Hands-on art activities in the What Can We Make? Studios
Spend $50 in the Jepson Center Store and get 5% off your total purchase; spend $100 and receive 10% off (excludes consignment items)

The Columbus Museum, Columbus*†
Saturday, May 11, 11am - 3pm: Free Family Day
Tuesday, May 14, 6-8:30pm: Contemporaries/Young Professionals Corks & Canvas event
Thursday, May 16, 6:15pm: Rothschild Distinguished Speaker: Elizabeth Johns, Professor Emerita of Art History, University of Pennsylvania give a lecture titled "Winslow Homer: Humor, Change, and Mystery
Saturday, May 18: free docent-led gallery tours

Idaho

Boise Art Museum, Boise †
On Sunday, May 19, the Boise Art Museum and other members of the Boise Museum Association will celebrate Art Museum Day with a free event at the Idaho Historical Museum featuring hands-on activities, information and exhibitions. The Idaho Historical Museum is across the street from the Boise Art Museum.
Sunday May 19 is also the last day to visit artist Billie Grace Lynn’s life size White Elephants exhibition at the Boise Art Museum. Her white elephant suit will be available for visitors to write their burdens (white elephants) that they would like to have left behind and taken away with the suit when it is returned to the artist.
There will also be a glass demonstration at the Museum on May 19.

Illinois

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
$10 off all museum store purchases over $75
Shop will give away selected free museum postcards to children under the age of 14.

David & Alfred Smart Museum of Art, Chicago*

Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston*
1pm Docent Tour

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago*

Indiana

Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis*
Free docent tours throughout the day
1-4pm: Bubble painting family program in Star Studio
1-3pm: Ask Me Docents in the galleries

Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington*

Snite Museum of Art, Notre Dame*
Free catalog for first 50 visitors

Iowa

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids*

Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines*

University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City/Davenport*
Free admission at the UI Museum of Art's temporary location at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa.
UIMA’s two temporary locations on campus in Iowa City will also have free admission on May 18.

Kansas

Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence
Art Cart hands on family activity
Art:21 marathon in the contemporary gallery, featuring episodes with artists whose work is represented in the Spencer’s collection
Free postcard giveaways

Louisiana

New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans**
Free admission excepting Portrait of Faith exhibition

Maine

Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland
Half-price admission for all museum visitors
 

Maryland

Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore*

Massachusetts

Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge*

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Boston
10% off at The ICA Store with paid admission

List Visual Arts Center, MIT, Cambridge*
Special tour with assistant curator Alise Uptitis through three exhibitions: Nairy Baghramian; Alan Uglow: Standards and Portraits, and List Projects: Gabriel Abrantes. Upitis will walk through the exhibitions and engage visitors with the thematic and art historical questions that connect these three exhibitions. 

Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge
Free admission for all visitors under age 18

Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
3 free months of membership for anyone who purchases a membership on Art Museum Day

Smith College Museum of Art, Northhampton*

Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown*
The Museum will offer special programs on the upcoming expansion project.

Worcester Art Museum, Worcester*†
Free admission on Wednesday, May 22
Drawing in the Galleries 1-3pm

Mexico

Museo Arocena, Torreon, Coahuila*
Free admission May 16-19, with many special programs and events on all four days.

Museo Franz Mayer, Mexico City
Many special activities including family programs, lectures, music, and more - information available at Museo Franz Mayer's website.

Museo Nacional del Arte, Mexico City †
May 16, 11am - "Art Talks: New Technologies,  New Audiences." A discussion of MUNAL's participation in Google Art Project; live stream here.
May 18, 12pm - Lecture: "Memory + Creativity = Social Progress." Museum professionals exchange with the public on various cases of patrimonial wealth of museums and heritage associated with creativity and social change.
May 18, 12pm - Guided tour of Vanguardia en México, 1915-1940
May 18, 3pm - Special museum tour with actress Marcela Romero
May 18, 12:30pm - Engraving workshop
May 18 - Free Family Program - Shadow Puppet Show

Museo Tamayo, Mexico City
International Teen Advisory Group, in conjunction with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego: two groups of teens in Mexico City and San Diego will bridge the culture gap to create projects and programs which further engage the teen populations of each community.

Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City
Many special lectures and programs on May 18

Michigan

Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit*

Flint Institute of Arts, Flint*
Free audioguides

Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids †
$5 admission after 5pm on May 17

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo*

University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor*

Minnesota

Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis*
Free "More Real?" admission for anyone who takes a photo of their visit on 5/18 and shares it on social media with #ArtMuseumDay

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis*
All visitors are “members for a day” and will receive free admission and applicable discounts

Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis*

Mississippi

Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson*
Free admission to The Mississippi Story, an ongoing exhibition of work from the museum's permanent collection.
Oxford Day: In honor of Symbols of Faith, Home, and Beyond: The Art of Theora Hamblett, and in celebration of the hometown of Theora Hamblett, the Mississippi Museum of Art invites all current and former residents of Oxford to a day of events and programs in The Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

Missouri

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University, Saint Louis*
Museum shop sale: visitors receive a 10% discount; members receive 15%
Community art-making project
Student-led tour
Refreshments

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City*
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is celebrating Museum Day for a full week - Sunday, May 12 to Sunday, May 19!
Member for a Week entitles the public to a week of free parking, 10% off Museum Store and 10% off Rozzelle Court Restaurant purchases, plus a free giveaway.
Free, public celebration: 1–4 p.m. Sunday, May 12, in the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park: Mother’s Day for Mother Earth, featuring StoneLion Puppets.
Special event: 6 p.m. May 15: Philippe de Montebello, Director Emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, presents a talk: Many Lives of the Work of Art. Free and open to the public.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis*
20% off memberships
Free collection tours throughout the day
 

Nebraska

Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha*
10:30am tour: Nineteenth-Century French Academic Art
1pm tour: Highlights of the Permanent Collection

New Hampshire

Currier Museum of Art, Manchester*

Hood Museum of Art, Hanover*

New Jersey

Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum/Rutgers, New Brunswick*

Newark Museum, Newark
$1 off all Suggested Adult Admissions
Art Lovers Tours at 1pm & 3pm, featuring masterworks by Joseph Stella, John Singer Sargent and Andy Warhol
Make it/Take it workshop for kids: keep your own masterpieces safe by building your own Treasure Protector box and alarm device that buzzes when an intruder tries to enter.  Offered at 1, 2 & 3 pm.

Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton*
Family Day: Celebrations Around the World

New Mexico

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe
Free admission for New Mexico Residents
ree Georgia O'Keeffe postcard pack for first 400 visitors

New York

Asia Society Museum, New York*

Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn
2-for-1 admission

Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo*

Corning Museum of Glass, Corning
Life on a String: 35 Centuries of the Glass Bead exhibition opening
Free guided tours with Life on a String exhibition curator Adrienne Gennett
Watch free flameworking demonstrations to see how glass beads are made

Grey Art Gallery, New York*

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca*
Art Museum Day Drop-In Workshop
Opening two exhibitions: Summer Breeze: Paintings and Drawings by Alice Dalton Brown and JAMuse: The Johnson at 40

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Coupon for $10 off a purchase of $50 or more in Metropolitan Museum shops. Coupons are available at the information and admissions desks, and are valid through June 30.

Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute, Utica*

Museum of Modern Art, New York
Half price on all online admission ticket purchases made for May 18, 2013
Visitors who purchase the half-price admissions may apply the value of a full ticket price toward the cost of a membership

Noguchi Museum, Long Island City*†
Free admission and programming on Sunday, May 19

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
$5 admission on May 18
10% off at The Wright restaurant

Studio Museum in Harlem, New York*

The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx*
20% off new memberships and free tote bag with purchase of new membership

The Drawing Center, New York*

The Frick Collection, New York
Lecture: From Borgo San Sepolcro to the East Coast
Nathaniel Silver, Guest Curator, The Frick Collection on Piero della Francesca’s work in Borgo San Sepolcro

The Jewish Museum, New York*

The Morgan Library and Museum, New York
Half-priced admission

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Free gift with purchases over $40 in museum shop

North Carolina

Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill*

Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham*

North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh*
Free admission to collection and special exhibitions on Art Museum Day

Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem

The Mint Museum, Charlotte
Pay What You Wish at The Mint Museum (applies to both Uptown and Randolph locations)
50% off memberships at any level
Program at The Mint Museum Uptown: Embracing Similarities and Differences III: F.O.O.D. & Fellowship (10:30am, free, reservations required) This event will bring together grandmothers, mothers and daughters, mentors and mentees, and girls and women from various backgrounds. They will gather for a light breakfast, view the F.O.O.D. exhibition, hear how passing along recipes and creating healthy dishes can encourage quality time, create a recipe box, and commit to feeding the hungry by giving back through acts of kindness. Each attendee is asked to bring two nonperishable food items to donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank.
Artist Residency at The Mint Museum Uptown: Fecund by John W. Love. Love will be on hand to discuss his work and answer questions for part of the day on May 18.

Ohio

Akron Art Museum, Akron*†
Free Admission from 11am to 9m on Thursday, May 16
1pm Gallery tour

Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin*†
Museum is free every day
Sunday, May 19: Free admission to Frank Lloyd Wright's Weltzheimer/Johnson House

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland*

Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus*

Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati
2pm Tour with curator Justine Ludwig

Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati*

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo*
Museum Day Video Challenge: TMA visitors record and submit their own short video clips showcasing why a visit to TMA is a memorable experience.

Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University, Columbus*

Oklahoma

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Norman*

Philbrook Museum, Tulsa

Ontario

Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
$10 off individual membership; $20 off family membership on May 18
Canadian citizenship ceremony takes place at AGO on Thursday, May 16

Oregon

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene*
Artful Animals family day

Portland Art Museum, Portland*†
Free admission on May 24 from 10am-8pm

Pennsylvania

Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh*

Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford**
Free admission does not include historic properties

Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh*†
Thursday, May 16: Free admission from 4pm - 8pm

Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh*

Palmer Museum of Art, University Park*

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia*
10% discount in museum shop

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia*

Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg*

Puerto Rico

Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce*†
Open House on May 19: Free admission; workshops for children; performance by children's choir; museum tours; and more!

Quebec

Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal*

Rhode Island

RISD Museum, Providence*†
Free admission May 19
The Big Draw: a vibrant celebration of drawing, inspired by the internationally acclaimed campaign that celebrates drawing in its many forms through hands-on drawing for all.

South Carolina

Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia*†
Found in Translation: The Art of Steven Naifeh exhibition opening

Tennessee

Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis*

Frist Center for Visual Arts, Nashville
10% off purchases in the Frist Center Gift Shop
15% off purchases in the Frist Center Cafe
$5 off new Frist Center memberships purchased on-site May 18

Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis*
Creation Station family program

Texas

AMOA-Arthouse, Austin*
Information on happenings at the Jones Center and Laguna Gloria sites - including docent tours and family activities - available here.

Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Forth Worth

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston*
2pm Performance: Mirror Check, Joan Jonas

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas*

El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso*
Free admission 1-4pm
Respond to the artwork and share your experience in a temporary gallery display
Learn about different museum jobs from staff members
Get a glimpse of how exhibits are designed
Vote for your favorite wall color for the upcoming Discovering the American Modern 1907-1936 exhibit
Gallery tours & Refreshments

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth*
15 months of membership for the price of 12, when you mention Art Museum Day, for new memberships only

McNay Art Museum, San Antonio*

Meadows Museum, SMU, Dallas*

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth*

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston*

Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas*
360 Speaker Series by artist Liz Larner

San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio*

The Menil Collection, Houston*

Utah

Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City*
Third Saturday art-making activity - make your own paintbrush

Vermont

Shelburne Museum, Shelburne
Free postcard set for the first 200 visitors
$5 off basic membership categories

Virginia

The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville*
Saturday Special Tour by director Bruce Boucher

Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg*

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond*
Free admission includes special exhibitions

Washington

Henry Art Gallery, Seattle
$10 off a basic membership for new members
Free coffee/hot drink card to be redeemed at Molly’s Café for current members
Pencils and lapel pins for everyone!

Museum of Glass, Tacoma*†
Free May 16

Seattle Art Museum, Seattle**
Free admission to the museum, not including Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London

Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma*†
Free 5-8pm on May 16
Art activities and giveaway

Wisconsin

Chazen Museum of Art, Madison*
1:30pm docent tour
50% off all memberships

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison
10% off purchases in the museum store

Wyoming

National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole
Spin to Win: Guests will be invited to spin a "pie-chart wheel" and are guaranteed to win a prize, all of which deepens their engagement with the Museum.
Items will include free admission for the day, free guest passes for future visits, free drink ticket to redeem at our Mix’d Media event for young professionals, two lunches at the Rising Sage Cafe, National Geographic posters, soft-covered copy of National Geographic Photographs of the American West, on display this summer; package of Museum post cards.