Today is Memorial Day and the best time to introduce to you the Blue Star Museums project, which gets underway today and continues through Labor Day, September 6.
The result of a collaborative effort involving the National Endowment for the Arts, many hundreds of museums, and a service-related organization, Blue Star Families, the project enables museums across the United States to offer free admission to active-duty military personnel and their immediate families.
Among the fine art and craft museums in all 50 states that are participating in the "Operation Appreciation" initiative are California's San Diego Museum of Art, Museum of Photographic Arts, Mingei International Museum; Seattle Art Museum, Oregon's Portland Art Museum; the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina; New York's Asia Society, American Folk Art Museum, and Brooklyn Children's Museum; the North Dakota Museum of Art; Wyoming's Fort Caspar Museum; Amon Carter Museum, Buddy Holly Center, Fort Sam Houston Museum, and Nasher Sculpture Center, all in Texas; Virginia's Chrysler Museum of Art, Gadsby's Tavern Museum, and Morven Park; Nebraska's International Quilt Center and Museum; Iowa's Figge Art Museum; Colorado's Boulder History Museum; the American Jazz Museum and St. Louis Art Museum in Missouri; Utah Museum of Fine Arts; Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Phillips Collection, and Dumbarton House in Washington, D.C.
A map that lists every museum in a particular state when you click on it is here. Each listing is highlighted to enable you to go directly to the museum's Website to learn about its exhibitions.
May as many military families as possible enjoy their arts ventures, wherever they are, as museums and the public that supports them show their appreciation for service to our country.
For a series of FAQs about Blue Star Museums, go here. The Blue Star Museums blog is here.
Happy Memorial Day, everyone!
My Monday Muse column returns next Monday with a feature on West Virginia's Poet Laureate.
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3 comments:
What a wonderful initiative!
Happy Memorial Day to you Maureen!
Cool.
Reminds me a little of what Ron Kelsey is trying to do through the Reflections of Generosity project.
Yes! What a great idea. Thanks for sharing. We need to remember the sacrifice made by our troops. A veteran myself, I can say that the military is not the most art sensitive place so the more we can share the better.
I remember getting odd stares when in charge of the ships on line movie system when I suggested we interrupt a non stop list of action adventure movies and show "A Trip to Bountiful." Though I also remember a superior office who loved to draw onboard when he had off time.
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