Tyler Museum of Art Joins Blue Star Museums

Tyler Museum of Art Open for Labor Day

            September 1, 2010 (TYLER, TX) – The Tyler Museum of Art will be open to the public on Labor Day, September 6 as a part of the Museum’s participation in a program called Blue Star Museums, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and more than 600 museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2010. The Museum will be open from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m., Monday, September 6., and will resume normal hours of operation the following day.

          

  Visitors to the TMA can view the Museum’s latest exhibition titled Form & Substance: The Art of George Tobolowsky on view in the Bell Gallery. The exhibition shows works by Texas artist George Tobolowsky, who uses discarded metal pieces to create energetic and compelling large-scale sculpture. 

“We at the Tyler Museum of Art are proud to have been involved in this partnership,” said TMA Director Kimberley Bush Tomio. “We believe in our nation’s servicemen and women, and we hope that this small gesture expresses our gratitude for their sacrifice.”

        

    The TMA is one of 600 museums across the nation to participate in the Blue Star Museum initiative. The free admission program is available to active duty military and their immediate family members (military ID holder and five immediate family members), which includes active duty Reserve and active duty National Guard. The partnership is the latest Arts Endowment program to bring quality arts programs to the military, veterans, and their families.  Other NEA programs for the military have included Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, Great American Voices Military Base Tour, and Shakespeare in American Communities Military Base Tour. 

About Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is a national, non-partisan, non-profit network of military families from all ranks and services including guard and reserve, with a mission to support, connect and empower military families.  In addition to morale and empowerment programs, Blue Star Families raises awareness of the challenges and strengths of military family life with civilian community and leaders.  Membership includes spouses, kids, parents, service members, veterans and civilians.

Operation Appreciation is an initiative of Blue Star Families that seeks to connect military families to the larger community.  Blue Star Families 2009 annual survey shows that 94 percent of military families feel that the larger community doesn’t truly understand or appreciate the sacrifices we make for the country.  Through initiatives such as Blue Star Museums, Blue Star Families provides avenues for the larger community to show that they do understand, in meaningful ways that enrich the lives of military service members, spouses, children and parents.  For more information, please visit www.BlueStarFam.org.

About the National Endowment for the Arts

The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts – both new and established – bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education.  Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest annual national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.

The Tyler Museum of Art, accredited by the American Association of Museums, is located at 1300 S. Mahon Ave., adjacent to the Tyler Junior College campus off East Fifth Street. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Lunch is available in the Museum Café from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and the TMA Gift Shop is open during Museum hours. For more information, call (903) 595-1001 or visit www.tylermuseum.org.