Buxton is a well-known personality on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow, a program whose participants frequently stand in line for hours to learn the values of their possessions. Antiques Round-Up at The Grace Museum closely follows the format of the PBS show; Buxton will entertain attendees with interviews and on-the-spot discussions highlighting some of the most interesting items brought in to the event.

Activities begin Friday night, July 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Historic Ballroom of The Grace Museum. Buxton will present a review of his time during Antiques Roadshow and display highlights from the show. Tickets are $25 for museum members and $30 for non-members. The talk will be followed by a wine and dessert buffet, hosted by BJ Naranjo-Smith of Antique and Almost.

Saturday, July 31, at 10 a.m., the guest appraisers will participate in a panel discussion at the museum. Appraisers will answer questions regarding conservation and renovation, where to buy and sell items, and how to have items authenticated. The panel discussion is $10 per person and will include a light breakfast of pastries, fruit and coffee for attendees.

The Antiques Round-Up appraisal show will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are available in advance or at the door, and ticket holders will be directed to the appropriate appraiser for each of their items. Appraisers at the event will be qualified to appraise paintings and prints; gems and fine jewelry; quilts; Native American Indian jewelry, rugs and pottery; Oriental rugs; art pottery and art glass; residential contents, which include crystal, porcelain, china, lamps, silver and decorative accessories; guns; primitives; Western memorabilia; and more.

Tickets for the appraisal event are $20 for one item, $35 for two items and $50 for three items.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, Ellen Amirkhan, a certified appraiser specializing in Oriental rugs, will give a gallery talk on the care and conservation of Oriental rugs. Amirkhan will bring a large assortment of Oriental rugs, and her appraisals during the appraisal show will take place in a bazaar-type setting. All rugs will be for sale with a portion of the cost going to benefit The Grace Museum. Tickets to the 1 p.m. gallery talk are $10 each. Rugs may be viewed throughout the day without the purchase of a ticket.

The doors to the appraisal show will close at 4 p.m., but all ticket holders will have access to the appraisers.

For more information and advance ticket sales, call The Grace Museum at (325) 673-4587, or visit www.thegracemuseum.org/roundup.

The Grace Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums, and houses a children’s museum, history museum, and art museum. At 55,000 square feet, The Grace Museum is the tenth largest general museum in Texas, and is the cornerstone of cultural arts and education in West Texas. The museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Grace Museum is a non-profit organization, and the museum’s exhibitions and educational programs are supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council, the City of Abilene, Taylor County, and the Downtown Revitalization Program of the Tax Increment Finance District.

The Grace Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday. Admission is free Thursday evening after 5 p.m.

The result is The Living Room, opening on July 27 and on view for two months in the Tower Gallery. For it, Foley uses a unique material, recycled cardboard, to create naturalistic forms and makeshift home furnishings to envelop visitors in an active living space. Foley says she drew upon the Museum’s encyclopedic holdings for inspiration when creating The Living Room, particularly from the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Reves Collection of impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and decorative arts objects are displayed together in a re-created domestic setting modeled after the couple’s Villa La Pausa in the south of France, once owned by Coco Chanel.

“Jill has made an environment for the temporary C3 that is dramatic, fun, and memorable,” said Diachisin. “Her ‘living room’ maintains the important elements of C3 for visitors as a social place for learning, interacting, and contributing.”

“In The Living Room, I wanted to create a space at the DMA that felt like home as well as a retreat,” noted Foley. “I feel that in much of my work I am trying to escape from the art world while being part of it, so it seems appropriate to have a domestic and inviting retreat within the Museum’s gallery.”

As a visiting artist at the DMA, Foley will lead a variety of art workshops over the next two months. Each Thursday evening during Thursday Night Live, she will lead Thursday Night Specials, including Make It/Take It, Tech Lab: Open Lab, DIY@DMA, Drawing in the Galleries and Creative Process: Inside Out. During these adult workshops, Foley will share her creative process and inspire participants to create their own works of art.

On September 25, the Center for Creative Connections will re-open on the first floor with a new exhibition, Encountering Space.

About the Visiting Artist

Dallas artist Jill Foley earned an M.F.A. from Southern Methodist University in May 2009 and a B.F.A. from Texas Wesleyan University in December 2005. Her work has been featured in three exhibitions at Dallas’s Conduit Gallery.

About the Center for Creative Connections and the Dallas Museum of Art

The Center for Creative Connections (C3) offers an environment for visitors of all ages to have a creative, educational experience with real works of art. C3 is an expansive 12,000-square-foot space consisting of the centrally located exhibition and several distinct learning areas. The learning areas include the Art Studio, an interactive learning space for children under the age of four called Arturo’s Nest, a Young Learners Gallery for children 5–8 and their families, a theater and a Tech Lab. The Center hosted more than 150,000 visitors in its first year. Today, this translates as roughly 30% of all Museum visitors.

Located in the vibrant Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) ranks among the leading art institutions in the country and is distinguished by its innovative exhibitions and groundbreaking educational programs. At the heart of the Museum and its programs are its encyclopedic collections, which encompass more than 24,000 works and span 5,000 years of history, representing a full range of world cultures. Established in 1903, the Museum today welcomes more than 600,000 visitors annually and acts as a catalyst for community creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with a diverse spectrum of programming, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary readings and dramatic and dance presentations.

The Dallas Museum of Art is supported in part by the generosity of Museum members and donors and by the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas/Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Manhattan Bridge Looking Up by Berenice Abbott, 1936

American Modern: Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White
Amon Carter Museum
October 2, 2010 through January 2, 2011

On October 2, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents American Modern: Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White. This special exhibition explores the work of three of the foremost photographers of the twentieth-century and the golden age of documentary photography in America. American Modern will be on view through January 2, 2011; admission is free.

Featuring more than 140 photographs by Berenice Abbott (1898–1991), Margaret Bourke-White (1906–1971) and Walker Evans (1903–1975), American Modern was co-organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine. The exhibition is the result of a unique partnership between three curators: Jessica May and Sharon Corwin of the Carter and Colby, respectively, and Terri Weissman, assistant professor of art history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Together, the three curators present the works of these three artists as case studies of documentary photography during the Great Depression and demonstrate how three factors supported the development of documentary photography during this important period in American history: first, the expansion of mass media; second, a new attitude toward and acceptance of modern art in America; and third, government support for photography during the 1930s.

“This exhibition considers the work of three of the best-loved American photographers in a new light, which is very exciting,” says curator Jessica May. “Abbott, Evans, and Bourke-White are undisputed masters of the medium of photography, but they have never been shown in relation to one another. This exhibition offers viewers an opportunity to see works together that have not been shown as such since the 1930s.”

In addition to vintage photographs from over 20 public and private collections, the exhibition also features rare first-edition copies of select books and periodicals from the 1930s. American Modern, May says, “reminds us that documentary photography was very much a public genre—this was the first generation of photographers that truly anticipated that their work would be seen by a vast audience through magazines and books.”

A scholarly catalogue, published by the University of California Press, accompanies the exhibition. The museum has also prepared a mobile tour of the exhibition, which will be available on the museum’s website or on preloaded iTouch devices available for free loan from the Carter’s Information Desk.

American Modern: Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White and its accompanying publication have been made possible in part by The National Endowment for the Arts, The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, and the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.

The Fort Worth presentation is supported in part by RBC Wealth Management. Promotional support is provided by Star-Telegram, WFAA, and American Airlines.

In conjunction with American Modern: Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White, the Carter will host the following free public programs:

Saturday, October 2, 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

Modern Documents: Photography in 1930s America
Amon Carter Museum of American Art Lectures on American Photography

This scholarly symposium featuring six panelists will reflect on the legacy of 1930s documentary photography in conversations about the exhibition American Modern: Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White.

This symposium on American art, culture, and society by distinguished individuals is made possible by a generous gift from the late Anne Burnett Tandy.

Reservations are required. Boxed lunches are available to preorder for $8. Call 817.989.5030 or e-mail education@cartermuseum.org to register.

Sunday, November 14, 1–4 p.m.

Picture This

Family Funday

Explore photography with your family by discussing artworks in the galleries and taking photographs!

Family Fundays are sponsored by The Junior League of Fort Worth, Inc., and Alcon.

Thursday, November 18, 6 p.m.

Evans in Film

Film Screening and Discussion

Discuss the role of early documentary film in the career of Walker Evans, and view film shorts by Evans and his friends Helen Levitt and Jay Leyda.

Because seating is limited, reservations are required. Call 817.989.5030 or e-mail education@cartermuseum.org to register.

Manhattan Bridge Looking Up by Berenice Abbott, 1936

WASP (photo courtesy of Texas Woman's University)

National Women’s Museum in Dallas, Texas, opens exhibit dedicated to the accomplishment of women in air and space.

The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future announces the opening of Dreams of Flight: A Journey through Air and Space on Friday, July 23, 2010, and runs through October 31, 2010. In a special twist, the opening of the exhibit coincides with one of America’s beloved pioneers of flight birthday, Amelia Earhart, born July 24, 1897. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to make a non-stop Trans-Atlantic flight in 1932. In June 1937, Amelia began the infamous final trip that would mark the first around-the-world flight. She and her navigator, Frederick Noonan, completed almost two-thirds of their flight when they were lost at sea.

Amelia Earhart (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University)

Women have broken boundaries in the realm of air and space as pilots, astronauts, astrophysicists and scientists. The more than 40 women featured in Dreams of Flight: A Journey through Air and Space, presented by ExxonMobil, demonstrate remarkable resilience, strength and character in the face of opposition. This exhibition highlights the women, from the earliest pioneers of flight including Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman (Texas native), Jaqueline Cochran and Jeana Yeager (Fort Worth, Texas, native), to science and space innovators such as Barbara Askins, Patricia Cowings and Jerrie Cobb.

Dreams of Flight represents the personal sacrifices and professional fortitude of more than 40 women who have made unparalleled contributions to the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an effort to advance these fields in America.

Dreams of Flight: A Journey through Air and Space will feature items on loan from museums and collections across America, including uniforms, artifacts, images, videos and interactive activities.

The exhibit is broken down into areas where women had the most impact in aeronautics:

• FIRST IN FLIGHT – the first women in America to fly planes, perform aeronautic acrobatics, and pave the way for future women
• FLY GIRLS – During WWII women would given the chance to serve their country and through the development of the WAFS and WFTD, the WASP were created, and became the first women to serve as pilots and fly military aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
• TURBULANT TIMES – Although women had been flying since the early 1900s, were still not accepted into aeronautics. The FLATS (or Mercury 13) went through rigorous training to be accepted into NASA
• LIFT OFF – Women began to make their mark in aeronautics and space flight, as well as commercial flight and unique piloting careers. Women worked as both pilots, astronauts, and in supporting roles such as scientists, engineers, and on ground commanders.

“It is appropriate that our 10th Year Anniversary features women for whom the sky was NOT the limit,” said Wanda Brice, CEO of The Women’s Museum. “Like those adventurous flying women, the women who dreamed of and made happen The Women’s Museum, saw the possibilities and flung themselves into the project. The contributions of women to the fields of air and space are too often overlooked. This year, they will be celebrated by all the visitors to the now well-established Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future.”

In conjunction with Dreams of Flight, the Museum opens two exhibits Fly Girls and Women and Flight. Fly Girls is a traveling exhibit created by Texas Woman’s University (TWU). Texas Woman’s University completed the exhibit, FlyGirls, in 2000 for the WASP Reunion, which was held, in part, on the TWU campus in Denton, Texas. The exhibit consists of nine cloth panels that share the history of America’s Fly Girls.

Women and Flight, images by Carolyn Russo, is an exhibit of selected images from the Women and Flight collection, which originally toured as a SITES traveling exhibition and was created by photographer Carolyn Russo. Photographs include images of Jean Ross Howard-Phelan, Shannon Lucid, Patty Wagstaff, Susan Still, Eileen Collins, and many others.

The Women’s Museum, celebrating a decade of empowering women in association with the Smithsonian Institution, is the nation’s only comprehensive women’s history museum that chronicles the lives of American women through interactive exhibits. The Women’s Museum is supported, in part, by the City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m. (closed Mondays). For more information, please visit www.thewomensmuseum.org.

Presenting Sponsor

ExxonMobil is committed to advancing U.S. math and science education and does so by supporting a wide variety of educational initiatives. This outreach includes programs that seek to improve education and career opportunities for minorities and women, particularly within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Lending Institutions: The Women’s Museum collaborated with other institutions to bring exciting and interesting artifacts and images in for this exhibit. The lending institutions include: the Gee Library Special Collections, Texas A & M University-Commerce; The Women’s Collection of the Blagg-Huey Library at Texas Woman’s University; Johnson Space Center; National Air and Space Museum; Wings Across America; Patty Waggstaff; and many others.

Sally Ride (NASA)

Programming sponsored in part by KIDS FIRST!

Films are shown in the auditorium at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Admission is free and open to the public. Seating is limited to the first 250 guests. The age ranges listed below are recommendations. For the most up-to-date information, visit www.themodern.org.

Take a break from the Texas heat and join us for The 2010 Modern Kids – Summer Flicks Series! Share the art of the screen with your children as they watch stories unfold and ideas form in delightful and innovative films. The bonus for seeing these films at the Modern is the opportunity to visit the galleries before or after and experience the wonder of the art as stories unfold and ideas form in paintings, sculptures, installations and videos found in works from the permanent collection.

Make a full day of creative activities at the Modern. Beautiful sketchbooks made of materials that inspire are available for children of all ages free at the front desk any day of the week and the perfect partner to the films showing for the Summer Flicks Series.

KIDS FIRST! is a project of the Coalition for Quality Children’s Media, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to empower children to make wise media choices and to promote quality media products that enrich their lives. www.kidsfirst.org.

Film Schedule

August 10

10:30 am (ages 3-7)
Harold and the Purple Crayon (30 min)

Based on the classic book, these adventures star Harold, an inventive and curious toddler with thoughts, desires and feelings typical of any child his age. In his Crayon World, Harold can muse on questions that all young children naturally wonder about, and he can come up with his own answers.

1:30 pm (ages 8-11)
Beatless Nick (4 min), Pigeon Impossible (6 min), Varmints (24 min), Life on a LimbYellow Sticky Notes (6 min), and Gerald’s Last Day (12 min)

Beatless Nick is a 1950s UPA style animated short about a little beatnik with no sense of rhythm. Nick searches for his cool so he can fit in with the other Beats. In a basement jazz club, Nick tries to impress his friends by performing poetry, jazz, and even interpretive dance. But, his attempts do nothing but empty the club. Just when Nick is about to give up and move to Squaresville, he accidentally discovers a talent for scatting. The Beats love it and Nick finds his cool in his own beatless way. He may stick out like a sore thumb, but that’s because Nick always marches to the beat of his own drum.

Pigeon Impossible is the tale of Walter, a rookie secret agent faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.

Varmints tells the story of one small creatures struggle to preserve a world in danger of being lost forever through recklessness and indifference.

In Life on a Limb, irreconcilable enemies, a tree and a lumberjack, are stuck in a waiting room together. Inevitably, conflict ensues. Will they end up burying the hatchet?

Yellow Sticky Notes After realizing that yellow sticky note “to do” lists were consuming his life, filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns decided to visually self-reflect on his filmmaking journey by animating on the same sticky notes that caused him to ignore major world events for the last nine years. Animation meditation is blended with image, text, and an original musical score by Genevieve Vincent through the creation of a classically animated experimental film that was drawn straight ahead with only a black ink pen on over 2300 yellow sticky notes.

In Gerald’s Last Day, Gerald the dog, an unlikely candidate for adoption, has been scheduled for termination by the pound at 5:00. Today is his last chance to seduce a potential adopter…..can he do it before his time runs out?

7 pm (ages 12-up)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Modern and mythical worlds collide in a heroic epic adventure in Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Based on the popular book series by Rick Riordan, the film follows trouble-prone Percy Jackson who finds himself having problems in high school but that’s the least of his challenges. It’s the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus have walked out of the pages of his Greek mythology texts and into his life, and they’re not happy Zeus’ lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Learning he is the son of Poseidon, the young teen finds himself caught between angry and battling gods, and embarks on a cross-country adventure to catch the true lightning thief and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves.

August 11

10:30 am (ages 3-7)
Lost and Found (24 min), The Happy Duckling (9 min)

In Lost and Found, little boy finds a penguin on his doorstep, and though at first unsure what to do, the boy becomes determined to help the penguin find his way back home. Even if that means rowing all the way to the South Pole!

The Happy Duckling is an animated adventure set in a pop-up book world. Assembled and led by writer/director Gili Dolev, and accompanied by a whimsical score from composer Mick Cooke of Belle and Sebastian, the film follows the antics of a young boy in his struggles against a stacking duck! In this pop-up book world, expect the unexpected. Surprises aplenty behind every flap opened and every tab pulled.

1:30 pm (ages 8-11)
Against the Grain (2 min), Reach (4 min), Snow Day (2 min), Abridged (4 min), Again and Again (3 min), Kid Show (3 min), Alex and the Ghosts (7 min), and The Girl Who Cried Flowers (25 min)

In Against the Grain, a hapless karate fighter meets his biggest opponent.

In Reach, a tiny robot is given the gift of life with only one limitation, the length of his power cable.

Snow Day Can a helpless T-Rex dinosaur save himself from the impending doom of the Ice Age with only one sock?

Abridged is a romantic comedy set on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Again and Again Tons of cool ways to use a Mac, set to the song of ‘Again & Again’ by the Bird & the Bee.

Kid Show The playful fantasy world of little boys, where you can have weird conversations with the sun, dance around with wiggly arms, and, when your dad tells you to “go to sheep,” your pillow turns into one.

Alex and the Ghosts is a story of childhood magic and wonderment around a legendary hockey team, uniting past and present, reaching out to the youthful hearts of sport fans of all ages.

The Girl Who Cried Flowers is a moving narrative about the beauty of creation and the power of desire brought to life in a painterly watercolor style. In ancient Greece, a mysterious orphan is discovered. At first the local villagers are wary of the strange girl who cries beautiful blossoms instead of tears. But in time they begin to treasure her magical gift and desire her flowers. Olivia, a kind and giving spirit resolves to spend her days thinking sad thoughts and crying mountains of flowers for the insatiable villagers. However, sudden love brings change when Olivia falls for a jovial farmer named Panos. Panos desires nothing from Olivia except her happiness and so, out of love, he forbids her from crying. But the villagers will not simply forsake their beloved “girl who cries flowers.”

7 pm (ages 12-up)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The adventures of wisecracking pre-teen Greg Heffley, who must somehow survive the scariest time of anyone’s life… middle school. Convinced it’s the “dumbest idea ever invented,” Heffley considers junior high school a place rigged with hundreds of social landmines, not the least of which are wedgies, swirlies, bullies, lunchtime banishment of the cafeteria floor and a festering piece of cheese with nuclear cooties that he must overcome to become popular. His diary-or “journal”-chronicles his thoughts, tales of family trials and tribulations, and (would be) schoolyard triumphs.

August 12

These films from Mexico are part of the Festival de la Risa Celebration, commemorating the Bicentennial of the Independence and the Centennial of the Revolution of Mexico.

10:30 am (ages 3-7)
Global Wonders: Mexico (32 min)

Trey and Brianna visit Marisa’s home which is buzzing with activity as her family prepares for a Quinceaera celebration for her sister Anna.

1:30 pm (ages 8-11)
La Lune (7 min), Un Duelo (3 min), El Salon Mexico (13 min),
Folktales from Around the World: The Bear Prince (12 min), and Swaying Giants (26 min)

In La Lune, a couple living on top of a bizarre hourglass and under a tree discover the moon accidentally for the first time. The woman’s desire to reach and obtain the moon will lead them to experience things that they have never gone through before. In the end, they would discover new things about themselves and new truth about the world they thought they knew.

In Un Duelo, two hummingbirds engage on a senseless but sometimes funny battle.

El Salon Mexico is a fantasy set in Mexico in the 1800’s when a very young campesino who, along with his burro and rooster, sneaks out of the house one night to see a fiesta for the very first time.

Folktales from Around the World: The Bear Prince is a Mexican tale about a spirit that turns a prince into a bear. When the bear marries a woodcutter’s daughter, he reveals his secret and exacts a promise that she will never tell. In a fit of anger, she reveals it, setting off an extraordinary quest.

Swaying Giants is a documentary about a huge spectacle in Catalonia-the Human Giants. Sisters Laia, age 9, and Maria, age 7, have been practicing climbing these human towers for as long as they can remember, and they want more than anything to climb in the competition.

7 pm (ages 12-up)
*Furry Vengeance
*Film selection subject to change

Furry Vengeance is a live action family comedy in which an ambitious young real estate developer, Dan Sanders, faces off with a band of angry animals when his new housing subdivision pushes too far into a pristine part of the wilderness. Led by an incredibly clever raccoon, the animals stymie the development and teach our hero about the environmental consequences of man’s encroachment on nature.

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
3200 Darnell Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
Telephone 817.738.9215
Toll-Free 1.866.824.5566
Fax 817.735.1161
www.themodern.org

Museum Gallery Hours
Tue-Sat 10 am-5 pm
Sun 11 am-5 pm

The Museum is closed Monday and holidays including, New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas.

Panel with a seated ruler in a watery cave (Cancuen Panel 3), 795, Cancuen, Guatemala. Limestone, 22 5/8 x 26 1/4 x 3 in. (57.5 x 66.5 x 7.6 cm). Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes—Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City. Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph © 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara

Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea
Kimbell Art Museum
August 29, 2010 through January 2, 2011

Rarely does an exhibition offer an entirely fresh way of viewing the art of a great civilization. Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea at the Kimbell Art Museum does exactly that––by revealing and interpreting the importance of water to the ancient Maya. Shark teeth, stingray spines, sea creatures and waterfowl appear in works of stone and clay; supernatural crocodiles breathe forth rain; cosmic battles take place between mythic beasts and deities—all part of a new and vivid picture of the Maya worldview.

Over 90 works, many recently excavated and never before seen in the United States, offer exciting insights into the culture of the ancient Maya, focusing on the sea as a defining feature of the spiritual realm and the inspiration for powerful visual imagery. Surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, denizens of Maya cities responded to the oceanic, inland and atmospheric waters that shaped their existence.

“In 1986, the Kimbell Art Museum’s landmark exhibition The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art shed new light on the importance of dynastic lineage and blood sacrifice to the Maya,” commented Eric Lee, director of the Kimbell Art Museum. “Recent archaeological discoveries and the deciphering of the Maya glyph for water have led to a new, broader understanding of the expansive influence that water in all its myriad forms had on both the daily life and spiritual beliefs of the Maya people. This exhibition is the next important chapter in Maya research, and I am thrilled that the Kimbell Art Museum will showcase it.”

At the height of its achievement, between 300 and 900 AD, the Maya civilization spanned hundreds of cities across Mexico and Central America. With a culture highly advanced in mathematics, astronomy, architecture and art, the Maya practiced a complex religion and used a refined pictorial writing system composed of more than 800 glyphs. The interpretation of this language has played a role in the understanding of Maya culture. While 90% of glyphs are now understood, it was only in the late 1980s that a glyph for the sea had been identified. Until this key glyph had been unlocked, the importance of the sea in Maya culture had not been fully studied or appreciated. The identification of this glyph, translated literally as “fiery pool,” was part of a growing awareness of the centrality of the sea in Maya life, which has culminated in this exhibition and its companion book.

The exhibition reflects the broad range of media used by Maya artists: massive, carved stone monuments and delicate hieroglyphs, exquisite painted pottery vessels, charming sculpted human and animal figurines, and a lavish assortment of precious goods crafted from jade, gold and turquoise.

“Not only does this exhibition provide a new understanding of the sacredness of the sea in Maya thought and culture,” remarked Jennifer Casler Price, curator for Asian and non-Western Art at the Kimbell Art Museum, “but the objects presented here are stunning examples of the highest caliber of art, from the monumental to the minute, that the Maya ever produced.”

Surrounded by the sea in all directions, the ancient Maya viewed their world as inextricably tied to water, an idea that is explored in the first section of the exhibition, Water and Cosmos. More than a necessity to sustain life, water was the vital medium from which the world emerged, gods arose and ancestors communicated.

A limestone panel from Cancuen, Guatemala, is an exceptional example of Maya sculpture, depicting a ruler known as Tajchanahk, “Torch‐Sky‐Turtle,” seated on a water-lily throne in the royal court while simultaneously inhabiting the watery realm. A bubbling stream delineates the space, with stylized foliage anchoring the corners. For the Maya, the realms of earth, sea, sky and cosmos may have been perceived as flowing into each other rather than as distinct territories of being.

The world of the Maya brims with animal life—animated, realistic and supernatural all at once. The objects in the second section, Creatures of the Fiery Pool, portray a wide array of fish, frogs, birds and mythic beasts inhabiting the sea and conveying spiritual concepts. An effigy of a Caribbean spiny lobster is the only known Maya representation of the creature, excavated in 2007 from one of the oldest sites in Belize. It dates from the turbulent early colonial period, when traditional Maya life was disturbed by the incursion of Spanish soldiers and missionaries. A plugged cavity bearing a stingray spine, three shark teeth and two blades of microcrystalline quartz hints at blood sacrifice. The head emerging from the mouth may be that of a Maya deity.

The section Navigating the Cosmos explores water as a source of material wealth and spiritual power. All bodies of water––rivers, cenotes (deep, inland pools) and the sea––were united, and all could be traversed to a cosmic realm. A magnificent head of a deity with characteristics of the Sun God––a Belize national treasure––is one of the most exquisite works discovered in the Maya world. Weighing nearly ten pounds, it was created from a single piece of jadeite, the color of which was directly associated with the sea. It was found in the tomb of an elderly man, likely cradled in his arm upon burial at the sacred site of Altun Ha.

The final section of the exhibition, Birth to Rebirth, addresses the cyclical motion of the cosmos as the Maya pictured it. The sun rose in the morning from the Caribbean in the east, bearing the features of a shark as it began to traverse the sky. Cosmic crocodiles exhaled storms and battled with gods of the underworld. An elaborate ceramic incense burner from Palenque, Mexico, portrays a deity central to a creation myth. Water-curls on his cheeks and ear ornaments, which link him to the rain god (Chahk), speak of his connection to the watery world. A shark serves as his headdress, topped by a toothy crocodile. From this censer, ritual smoke curled through the city of Palenque, suffusing it with scent and mystery.

The exhibition is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, and is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Because democracy demands wisdom. Additional support is provided by ECHO (Education through Cultural and Historical Organizations), a program of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. It is co-curated by Daniel Finamore, Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History at the Peabody Essex Museum, and Stephen D. Houston, Dupee Family Professor of Social Science and Professor of Archaeology at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. The richly illustrated catalogue is published by Yale University Press, New Haven and London, in association with the Peabody Essex Museum. It is available in the Exhibition Shop ($65 hard cover; $39.95 soft cover).

Kimbell Art Museum hours: Tuesday–Thursday and Saturdays, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Fridays, noon–8 p.m.; Sundays, noon–5 p.m.; closed Mondays. For general information, call 817-332-8451. Web site: www.kimbellart.org. Address: 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107.

*Admission to view the Museum’s permanent collection is always FREE.

** Admission to Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea is $12 for adults; $10 for seniors age 60 and over, military personnel and students with an ID; $8 for children ages 6–11; and FREE for children under 6 and Museum members. Admission is half-price on Tuesdays and after 5 p.m. on Fridays. Admission to the exhibition is FREE to all every Wednesday and Thursday from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. (Free hours are unique to the Fiery Pool exhibition and may not be available during other Kimbell exhibitions. Check the Web site for details.)

***Acoustiguide audio tours of the exhibition are available in English and Spanish.

Panel with a seated ruler in a watery cave (Cancuen Panel 3), 795, Cancuen, Guatemala. Limestone, 22 5/8 x 26 1/4 x 3 in. (57.5 x 66.5 x 7.6 cm). Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes—Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City. Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph © 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara

Oscar Alvarez: Other Worlds
On view: July 14 – September 11, 2010

Opening Reception: Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 from 6 – 8 p.m. and is free to the public.

Born in 1975 in Brownsville, Texas, Alvarez has developed over the last decade a signature style based on dream images and the subconscious. His palette is a sophisticated blend of bright circus colors and the muted hues of stormy weather. This constant dichotomy between light and dark in color as well as subject matter creates something both otherworldly and lifelike. Amusing clowns, giraffes, bumblebees, and balloons float past somber monsters and flames that speak of illness and death. In the unpredictable patterns of life, he hints at the mysteries of the afterlife. Continually searching through his canvases, Alvarez draws from deep within his imagination.

Summer Art Camp Exhibition
On view: July 14 – September 11, 2010

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 24th, 2010 from 1 – 3 p.m. and is free to the public.

In keeping with our mission to contribute to the art education and cultural enrichment of the community, the Summer Art Camp Exhibition showcases art works created during our summer classes. Our young artists can leave the museum instilled with a sense of pride for the works created and displayed. Join us on July 24th from 1-3 PM to see a parade of smiling faces.

BMFA Summer Art Camp

Sessions through Aug 6
For ages 5 – 17

Kids will learn the fundamentals of drawing, sculpture, foil embossing, portraiture, painting, watercolors, tempera, acrylics, art appreciation and much more. All classes meet Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. for the morning session or from 1 to 3 p.m. for the afternoon session. The five-course session is $80, payable at the first class or in advance via our website.

Camp 6: July 12-16
Camp 7: July 19-23
Camp 8: July 26-30
Camp 9: Aug 2-6

For more information, contact Linda Marin at lmarin@brownsvillemfa.org

Beat the heat on Wednesdays in July, which offer a wide array of adult and children’s activities, all available with the half-price ($5) admission. Grab a bite of insight and join DMA staff and local scholars to explore the Museum’s collections and exhibitions during weekly lunchtime gallery talks every Wednesday at 12:15 p.m.; lunchtime gallery talks are included with the price of admission. The 2010 installment of “Summer Story Time” begins on Wednesday, July 7, along with “Sketching in the Galleries for Kids.” Families are invited to join a staff member in the galleries, after meeting in the Center for Creative Connections, for story time every Wednesday in July at 1:00 p.m. After story time, explore the Museum and find inspiration before the 4:00 p.m. “Sketching in the Galleries for Kids”; all materials are included in the half-price general admission.

July also announces the launch of bite-sized tours at the DMA. The DMA is a large museum encompassing 5,000 years of human creativity, and the bite-sized tours help introduce art to some of the Museum’s younger patrons and their families as well as offer a new view of the collections to the experienced visitor. Explore different times and periods of art with one of five self-guided tours: All that Glitters, Dog Day Afternoon, Superheroes, Seeing Red and What’s New. Tours engage visitors to find four to five different works of art throughout the Museum, and once the works are discovered, ask questions to create an interactive experience for the entire group. Dog Day Afternoon challenges participants to find five different works of art on Level 2 that include man’s best friend. In honor of the Dallas Theater Center’s world premiere of the musical It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman!, the tour Superheroes explores various works in the collections in which the subjects serve as protectors or gods.

Cool off with free admission, generously provided by Ovation TV, on Thursday evenings from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. in honor of Coastlines on Film, which begins Thursday, June 15, and continues every Thursday through August 12 . The series, cosponsored by the Dallas Film Society, will feature a film focused on the coast and range from classics like Rebecca (1940) to Whale Rider (2002) and Step into Liquid (2003), all screenings begin at 7:00 p.m. Explore the coastlines of the world from the comfort of Horchow Auditorium after diving into the Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea exhibition on view through August 22. Other programming on Thursday evenings, such as Jazz in the Atrium, will also continue.

About the Dallas Museum of Art

Located in the vibrant Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) ranks among the leading art institutions in the country and is distinguished by its innovative exhibitions and groundbreaking educational programs. At the heart of the Museum and its programs are its encyclopedic collections, which encompass more than 24,000 works and span 5,000 years of history, representing a full range of world cultures. Established in 1903, the Museum today welcomes more than 600,000 visitors annually and acts as a catalyst for community creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with a diverse spectrum of programming, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary readings and dramatic and dance presentations.

The Dallas Museum of Art is supported in part by the generosity of Museum members and donors and by the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas/Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Gustav Stickley Inlaid Chair

Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement
Dallas Museum of Art
Opens February 13, 2011

Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement is the first nationally touring exhibition to offer a comprehensive examination of the work of one of the leading figures of the American Arts and Crafts movement, Gustav Stickley. Organized by the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), the exhibition will examine Stickley’s contributions to the American Arts and Crafts movement during his most productive and creative period, from 1900 to 1913. Ranging from furniture to metalware to embroidered textiles, the majority of the objects on view are from private collections and three-quarters have never been seen before by the public.

The exhibition will provide new insights into the artistic, commercial, and social context of Stickley’s entry into the Arts and Crafts realm, the ideological development of his enterprise and the formation of the Craftsman home and lifestyle. It will also illuminate the vibrant identity of the “Craftsman” that Stickley developed and furthered through the creation and promotion of his furniture and household goods. A major highlight of the exhibition is the re-creation of a dining room arranged and furnished by Stickley that was originally designed for his 1903 Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Syracuse, New York.

Curated by Kevin W. Tucker, The Margot B. Perot Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art, Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement will premiere at the Newark Museum of Art on September 15, 2010, to coincide with the 100th birthday of Stickley’s home, Craftsman Farms, in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey. The exhibition will subsequently open at the Dallas Museum of Art on February 13, 2011, and at the San Diego Museum of Art on June 18, 2011.

“Until now, no one exhibition has brought forth such a comprehensive study of the most exceptional work of Stickley’s career, nor explored the aesthetic and meaning of these objects as lenses on the era and the American Arts and Crafts movement,” said Bonnie Pitman, The Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art. “Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement will provide new perspective on design, production, and dissemination of his firm’s work. The exhibition will also provide a deeper understanding of the remarkable legacy of his artistic enterprise in transforming the vision of the ideal household of the early 20th century.”

Stickley (1858–1942) was one of the leading figures in the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States. Stickley, unlike his predecessors in the English movement, began his career as a furniture factory owner, and only began to discover the precepts and stylings of the movement in the late 1890s. Balancing the core principles of the movement, with its emphasis upon the functional and handmade, and integrating it within a factory production system, Stickley’s firm made Arts and Crafts furniture, metalwork, and textiles widely available at a reasonable cost through retailers across the United States. Between 1900 and 1913, his most creative period and the era that is the focus of the exhibition, Stickley published The Craftsman magazine (1901–1916), which became a leading national journal of the movement’s ideals.

“During these years, Stickley’s firm produced works that embodied a bold new simplicity, forthrightness, and stability in the face of tumultuous times,” said Kevin W. Tucker, The Margot B. Perot Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art. “Not content simply to create these items, Stickley and his employees shaped and promoted the ideological framework of the Arts and Crafts movement where these beautiful, useful, and simple objects were presented as integral to a better way of living.”

This exhibition will include more than one hundred works produced by Stickley’s designers and workshops, including furniture, metalwork, lighting, and textiles, along with architectural drawings and related designs. One of the exhibition’s highlights will be the re-creation of the dining room first displayed in the 1903 Arts and Crafts Exhibition organized by Stickley and exhibited in his Syracuse Craftsman Building. The model dining room was a sensation, attracting the attention and admiration of many visitors. A period photograph of the original room corroborates the acclaim, showing a beautifully orchestrated setting that includes oak and burlap wall coverings, a Donegal carpet with stylized floral motifs, and refined Grueby Pottery vessels on the table and sideboard. One of the masterpieces on display in the re-creation will be a linen chest, now part of the DMA’s collections, made especially for the room, along with a selection of related furnishings that have not been reunited since 1903. The massive linen chest with its low profile, refined lines, and simple wrought-iron fittings is a stunning example of Stickley’s designers at the height of their creative powers.

Other highlights in the show include:

• An armoire, c. 1907–1912, which Stickley kept for his private use in the decades after he sold his business. Even after he left the business, Stickley continued to experiment with different varnishes, which can still be seen as a patchwork of colors on the undersides of the drawers in the armoire. The piece is a personal testament to his enduring creative spirit and energy.
• A chalet table, c. 1900, represents Stickley’s break from the ornamental language of the past century. The boldly simple design is among his firm’s most seemingly prescient designs.
• A unique three-fold leather screen, c. 1902–1905, with tooled floral ornamentation. While Stickley’s firm, under the name United Crafts (c. 1901–1903), reputedly produced a selection of furnishings with decorated leather surfaces, this is the only known, surviving example.
• A rare armchair, c. 1903, with copper and wood inlay reflects Stickley’s brief foray into decorated Arts and Crafts furniture influenced by the work of progressive British and Scottish designers. The form of the sled-footed chair is equally influenced by European sources, yet its elegant realization is distinctly American in character.

About Gustav Stickley

Born in 1858 in Osceola, Wisconsin, Gustav Stickley was a leading figure of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Apprenticed as a stone mason as a young man, Stickley moved as a teenager with his family to Pennsylvania, where he began to learn furniture making at his uncle’s chair factory. He opened his first furniture company in 1888, partnering with Elgin Simonds to form the Stickley & Simonds Company. A decade later—following his travels to Europe, where he was exposed to progressive furniture designs, including those produced by Liberty of London—Stickley assumed control of the firm, renaming it the Gustav Stickley Company. In 1901, the year following his introduction of a new line of Arts and Crafts furniture, the firm was renamed the United Crafts. It was renamed again as Craftsman Workshops in 1903, with the expansion into metalwork, textiles, and home design, and remained so until its dissolution in 1916.

Stickley’s innovative and affordable wares quickly earned him critical and commercial success. His firm’s designs were exhibited at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, and included in a pavilion at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, where they were seen by thousands of fairgoers. Stickley’s retail network, which eventually included over 100 stores across the United States, sold thousands of pieces of furniture each year, popularizing Stickley’s creations as exemplars of the Arts and Crafts movement; however, by 1915 he was unable to maintain the successes of his prior years, and the firm entered bankruptcy. Following a brief and unsuccessful collaboration with his brothers, he retired from the furniture industry. Stickley died in 1942 in Syracuse, New York.

Exhibition Organization and Tour

Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement was organized by the Dallas Museum of Art and curated by Kevin W. Tucker, The Margot B. Perot Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art.

The exhibition tour will include:

• Newark Museum (September 15, 2010–January 2, 2011)
• Dallas Museum of Art (February 13–May 8, 2011)
• San Diego Museum of Art (June 18–September 11, 2011)

This exhibition is supported by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Publication of the exhibition catalogue is underwritten by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Windgate Charitable Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Exhibition Catalogue

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated 272-page catalogue, Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement, by Kevin W. Tucker, The Margot B. Perot Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art, with essays and contributions by Beverly K. Brandt, David Cathers, Joseph Cunningham, and Beth Ann and Tommy McPherson and an introduction by Bonnie Pitman, The Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art.

Published by Yale University Press, the catalogue explores Stickley’s work and his dual roles as a visionary business leader and enthusiastic proselytizer of design reform. The full range of Stickley’s workshops is illuminated, including more than 100 objects of furniture, metalwork, and textiles, as well as architectural drawings and related designs, many of which are previously unpublished. Essays by distinguished contributors provide diverse viewpoints on the Arts and Crafts movement and Stickley’s evolving role as tastemaker, and the often contradictory messages conveyed through the construction and promotion of his designers’ works.

About the Dallas Museum of Art

Located in the vibrant Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) ranks among the leading art institutions in the country and is distinguished by its innovative exhibitions and groundbreaking educational programs. At the heart of the Museum and its programs are its encyclopedic collections, which encompass more than 24,000 works and span 5,000 years of history, representing a full range of world cultures. Established in 1903, the Museum today welcomes more than 600,000 visitors annually and acts as a catalyst for community creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with a diverse spectrum of programming, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary readings and dramatic and dance presentations.

The Dallas Museum of Art is supported in part by the generosity of Museum members and donors and by the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas/Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Gustav Stickley Inlaid Chair

The cost of the lecture is $15. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Lensic Box Office by calling 505 988 1234. They may also be purchased at the door. Proceeds from the lecture will benefit the New Mexico Museum of Art’s contemporary art programming.

About Karen LaMonte

Karen LaMonte is world-renowned for her monumental cast-glass sculptures of dresses and other drapery studies. Though originally from New York, the artist now lives in the Czech Republic, where there are facilities with the capacity to cast glass of the scale she requires. LaMonte graduated in 1990 from the Rhode Island School of Design, where she first began exploring clothing as a vehicle of portraiture in absentia. “I use clothing as a metaphor for identity and human presence,” she has said of her remarkable sculptures. “I believe we have two skins that outline and define who we are. One of course is our natural skin, but we obscure and conceal it beneath clothing which is a second skin, our social skin.”

In 1999, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to work in Czechoslovakia, where she ultimately moved. LaMonte’s other explorations have included cast glass mirrors with photographic imagery and printmaking. Most recently, LaMonte began investigating the use of ceramic in her sculptures at the European Ceramic Work Centre and was the recipient of the Corning Museum of Glass/Kohler Arts Center Joint Residency for working with ceramic and glass.

Karen LaMonte has received many prestigious awards, including: Corning Museum of Glass/Kohler Arts Center, Joint Artist-in-Residence Program; Jutta Cuny-Franz Memorial Award; Japan-United States Friendship Commission, National Endowment for the Arts Creative Artists ExchangeFellowship; Virginia A. Groot Foundation Recognition Award; UrbanGlass Award for New Talent in Glass; Creative Glass Center of America Fellowship; Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Award; Fulbright Grant: Cast Sculpture in the Czech Republic.

Her work is included in many museum collections, including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery, the deYoung Memorial Museum, Palm Springs Art Museum, Musée des arts décoratifs, National Gallery of Australia, Chrysler Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, and Museum of American Glass.

The timing could not have been better, just in advance of the opening on July 4, 2010 of the exhibition Empowering Women and the world-famous annual International Folk Art Market which takes over Milner Plaza.

The Girard Wing is open regular Museum hours; 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day until Labor Day weekend.

A complete listing of classes is available on-line at http://www.elpasoartmuseum.org/classes.asp.

Interested students may apply by filling out the scholarship form available on-line or by requesting the form via email or a hard copy at zamarripali@elpasotexas.gov. Scholarships are based on financial need, and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Scholarship recipients are placed in classes based on availability and student age. Specific class requests will be considered but are not guaranteed. Applications will be accepted until scholarship funds are exhausted.

Scholarships for adults are also available through the El Paso Museum of Art Foundation in Memory of Isaac Lopez. The scholarships, in memory of art advocate and art consultant Isaac Lopez, are specifically available to adults ages 15 years of age and older. Each scholarship can be applied to an adult summer workshop or class to cover the cost of tuition.

For more information, or to apply for scholarships please contact Laura Zamarripa, Museum School Coordinator, at (915) 532 – 1707 x 27.

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza invites the public to the opening of its much anticipated Museum Store + Café, located in the historic 501 Elm building across the street from the Museum. A ribbon-cutting will be held Thursday, July 1, 2010 starting at 10 a.m.

Overlooking Dealey Plaza, this newly renovated space on the prominent corner of Elm and Houston streets will give the museum guest, out-of-town visitor or local resident a more complete site experience to the National Historic Landmark and The Sixth Floor Museum exhibits.

The Museum Store + Café will provide a unique opportunity for the Museum to diversify its mission-related merchandise and increase its target audience,” said Nicola Longford, executive director of the Museum. “We believe our focus on President John F. Kennedy’s legacy and an ever-changing mix of unique offerings – inspired by the Dallas community – will be a terrific draw for local residents and out-of-town visitors.”

With the welcoming and relaxing ambiance of the wi-fi enabled café, customers will savor products from La Duni Coffee Studio as well as gourmet gifts, locally made artisanal chocolates, freshly-made pick-up snacks and a variety of seasonal beverages. Local businesses and visiting tour groups will be able to pre-order boxed lunches and custom desserts.

The Museum Store + Café will also present a wide range of new and regularly updated products that reflect the breadth of President Kennedy’s legacy within the context of contemporary culture as well as Dallas’ vibrant history and lifestyle. Special gift items include newly published books and documentaries, jewelry, accessories, stationery, children’s items and distinctive pop culture products inspired by the 1960s. Additionally, the Museum Store + Café is proud to showcase items created by innovative local artisans such as Brad Oldham that honor the history of the buildings, Dealey Plaza and the spirit of Dallas and its people.

“We hope this one-of-a-kind combined café and retail experience in this historic setting will help drive economic growth in downtown Dallas,” Longford continued, “as well as attract and encourage more local residents and visitors passing through Dealey Plaza to come to the Museum exhibits, public programs and special events. Ultimately, we intend for the new Museum Store + Café to help guests of all ages to better understand and value the historical context of this significant 20th century national landmark.”

Admission and store purchases directly support the Museum’s exhibit, education and programming activities.

Museum Store + Café hours are Monday–Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.jfk.org.

Featured Vendors:

Local Artisans:
Brad Oldham
CAC Mosaic Designs
Eye on the Sparrow
Dixie Piece Goods

Local Food Purveyors:
La Duni
Dude, Sweet Chocolate
Kessler Cookies
Lumen Water

Fair Trade / Eco-Friendly:
Aid to Artisans
Bamboula
Manos de Madres
Global Girlfriend

Kid Friendly:
Pikolino
Crocodile Creek
International Playthings

Gifts & Decorative Accessories:
Cavalini
Acme Studios

Stationery:
Graphique de France
Roger La Borde

Presidential and History related:
Museum Reproductions
Camrose & Kross (Jackie jewelry)
White House Christmas

Publishers:
Abrams
Hachette
D-K

Media:
National Geographic
PBS
The Kennedy Library

About the Museum

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza chronicles the assassination and legacy of President John F. Kennedy; interprets and supports the Dealey Plaza National Historic Landmark District and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza; and presents contemporary culture within the context of presidential history. Located at 411 Elm Street in downtown Dallas, the Museum is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday–Sunday and 12 to 6 p.m. Monday. Audio guides for the permanent exhibit are available in seven languages, and a youth version is available in English. For more information, visit www.jfk.org or call 214-747-6660.

Regular hours of operation are as follows:

Cultural Affairs – City Hall Summer Hours

Monday to Thursday 7:00 am to 6:00 pm

El Paso Museum of Art

Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Thursdays 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Closed Mondays and major holidays

El Paso Museum of History

Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Thursdays 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Closed Mondays and major holidays

El Paso Museum of Archaeology

Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm – 5 pm
Closed Mondays and major holidays

I was most impressed with the coordination amongst the museums. There were so many activities both inside and outside that I was unable to do them all. And darn it, I wanted to do it all!

The evening began with me missing the Grace Hula and Tahitian Dance by this much. I had only a second, to regret taking an after-work nap, before the lion dances, martial arts and weapons demonstrations with Lee’s White Leopard Kung Fu School began on Flora Street. Amazingly entrancing for adults and children alike!

It was so hard to tear myself away from that lively performance. But, I really wanted to join the Progressive Museums Tour. We began at the Nasher with a brief but very interesting gallery talk on their retrospective of drawings by contemporary British artist Rachel Whiteread. We were personally escorted across Flora Street to the Crow Collection to a hear highlights about Modern Twist: Bamboo Works from the Clark Center and the Art of Motoko Maio exhibition. My favorite of these contemporary Japanese baskets is probably the least functional, and reminds me of 80s couture. You’ll have to visit the Crow to see it for yourself! To my surprise, we also took a trip up to the LinkAsia gallery space for a viewing of Il Lee’s New Vision: Ballpoint Drawings.

The last stop of the tour was at the DMA. However, I cannot tell you what was shown because just as we crossed the threshold of the Flora Street entrance, I remembered I wanted to catch Fresh Ink with Jake Silverstein. I’d been looking forward to hearing the Texas Monthly editor discuss his first book, Nothing Happened and Then It Did: A Chronicle in Fact and Fiction. Alas, there was not an empty seat to be found in the DMA’s C3 theatre. Note to self: Next time get a ticket at 6 p.m.!

Don’t cry for me …  as I consulted my schedule for an alternative activity, I received a tweet with the first clue of the Museum Art Challenge. As instructed via multiple pre-event tweets, I put my smartphone to good use all through the evening, tweeting and monitoring #SummArt #tilMidnight #ArtTour and #ArtHunt! Upon accepting the challenge, I began speed walking through the DMA to solve the first clue. It was a photo clue. Think “water”…

After solving the first clue, I joined my dear editor outside the front entrance of the DMA for the Dick Dale and Jimmy Dale concert. Though, it wasn’t long before I was back on the art hunt; rushing to the Nasher. Upon entering the garden, I was immediately distracted by the cool tent for members, and then more so by the huge beanbag chairs strategically placed where a weary art detective could take a load off and enjoy a cross stream of air from huge fans provided by Reliant Energy. Accordingly, I took my time pondering the second clue. A few of the fans were dispatched a cooling fine mist. Think “water”…

Before leaving the ‘Til Midnight at the Nasher Sculpture Center, I had to watch a few scenes from the The Wizard of Oz, which was projected at the foot of the Terrace Garden. Before the Lion regained his courage, I was off to solve the last clue of the art hunt.

Across the street, the Crow Collection After Dark was in the full swing of TIKIoke with DJ Mark Ridlen. This multimedia karaoke experience came with complimentary sake & Asian beer, for those patrons of drinking age. The crowd exploded in cheers when Director of Education, Tracy Bays-Boothe, began singing Bowie’s China Girl. I was having such a great time singing along that I almost missed the last clue of the art hunt. In fact, a fellow karaoke patron alerted me to the tweet. I felt like Rocky as I descended the plaza stairs, arms waving in the air as I bellowed, “It’s Buddha! It’s Buddha!”

While the thrill of winning was awesome in itself, there was a grand prize. I won memberships to all three museums! Of course, I’m already a member of each fine institution. I actually took on the Museum Art Challenge for a relative who has suffered a huge loss and to whom I want to give the gift of art as a conduit for healing.

So elated that I’d successfully completed the art hunt, I returned to the Crow’s Gallery III to celebrate karaoke style. But in doing so, I missed one particular event I had been eagerly anticipating all evening. That was the EnLIGHTenment Tour of the Crow’s Jade by flashlight! Perhaps they’ll repeat this event again. I sincerely hope so.

Thank you, Dallas Arts District, for a wonderful evening of art, music and fun. There were some many wonderful activities from which to choose. I couldn’t do them all, but I certainly tried!

Mark your calendars for the next evening of Summer Art fun on July 16th!