This Week At the Tyler Museum of Art Free Art Tours and Family Fun!

(TYLER, TX) October 5, 2011 – The Tyler Museum of Art invites you to enjoy two events this week starting with the October 7 First Friday Art Tour of Object of Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Saturday, October 8, bring the kids back for an exciting Family Day where they will enjoy free art activities and refreshments in the classroom! Family Day is sponsored by The Roosth Foundation, and its activities will explore the vibrant Mexican holiday, El Dia de los Muertes (The Day of the Dead).

During the First Friday Art Tour, visitors will enjoy a free, guided art tour featuring selected sculptures included in Object of Devotion. Museum Educator, Felicity Enas, will lead the tour and discuss the complexities of relief carving and sculpture. Tour participants will also gain insight into the lives and culture of medieval England as communicated by the works of art on exhibit. The tour begins at 11:00 a.m. and is free, however standard exhibition admission fees apply.

On Saturday, children will discover the rich cultural and artistic history behind the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead. Kids will love creating their own jointed skeletons, faux sugar skulls, and scratch art skulls in the TMA classroom. During Family Day, museum educators will teach children interesting facts about this special holiday dedicated to the celebration of the lives of family members who have passed away, an event that is often memorialized in Mexican and Latin American folk art.

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. (The Museum is closed Mondays and major holidays.) 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.