In 1995 the Museum, in conjunction with the University of Montevallo, organized the exhibition Echizen: Eight Hundred Years of Japanese Stoneware. As part of the programming for the exhibition, master potter Fujita Juroemon (1922-2008), an eighth generation potter in the Echizen tradition, conducted a two-week workshop at the University to show his technique. As a result of the exhibition and workshop, several students traveled to Japan to continue their studies with the Echizen potters. Since 2008, the City of Montevallo has had a Sister City relationship with Echizen, which includes an exchange program for students. On August 3, a group of teenage students from Echizen spent time at the Museum, touring, creating their own art, and learning more about American artists Jacob Lawrence, Chris Clark, and Benny Andrews.
It's almost time for the kids to head back to school - have they visited Bart's ArtVenture yet? Come create with us in the new hands-on family gallery! Even if you've already been, come back to check out our new art activity, where visitors can create their own murals! The activity is inspired by Sol LeWitt's Band of Color in Various Directions, which lives in our very own sculpture garden. Learn more about Bart's ArtVenture here.
Have kids between the ages 2 and 6? Come to the museum for a fun and interactive story time from 10am-2pm Thursday, August 9. The event, sponsored by LEGO DUPLO and the Association of Library Services to Children, has been touring across the nation, building creative minds, inpsiring imagination, and fostering early child literacy. Bring your little one in for a day of fun games, activities, and stories! Visit the Read! Build! Play! website for more information.
There are only a few days left of our current student exhibition, Forever Green: 100 Years of Girl Scouts, which closes July 31.
In the Girl Scouts' centennial year, the exhibit celebrates the legacy of Girl Scouts' founder Juliette Gordon Lowe. Lowe, a nature lover, and the organization are honored through the "green" artwork, created by the Girl Scouts of the North-Central Alabama Council.
Click here to learn more about the exhibit, taking place in communities nationwide.
Looking to liven up your exercise routine? Yoga is a perfect way to calm your mind and energize your body, especially when practiced in the BMA's beautiful setting.
Whether you're advanced or just beginning, Yoga @ the Museum offers something for everyone! Energize your chakras with Vinyasa flow, the Five Tibetan Rites, Breathwork, and Chakra meditation.
Classes start at 10AM on every Saturday through the month of August. To learn more about the classes, instructors, and how to register, click here.
The Birmingham Museum of Art is gathering important community feedback that will help shape the Museum’s future programs, exhibits and community outreach.
Share your feedback about the Birmingham Museum of Art and you could win the exclusive All-Access Membership Experience!
Please share your feedback with us by participating in a brief 8–10 minute survey. It is easy to complete and requires only a check mark for each question. Your anonymous and valuable responses will help shape the future for the Birmingham Museum of Art.
All participants are eligible to enter into a drawing to win an exclusive:
All-Access Membership Experience includes:
- 2 Season Passes to Art On The Rocks
- 8 tickets to the Norman Rockwell Exhibition and lunch for 2 at Oscar's Cafe
- $50 Gift Certificate to the Museum Store
- One Full Year Family/Dual Membership to the Museum
- Behind-the-Scenes tour for two
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*Opportunity only available to survey participants
Please respond soon—the survey closes on July 18. Thank you for sharing your feedback. Click here to share your feedback now.
The Birmingham Museum of Art recently achieved a TripAdvisor rating of 4.5 out of 5 from visiting guests, and the Museum was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for the year 2012. TripAdvisor has become the world’s largest travel site by recognizing the power of traveler feedback.
Click here to see some of the great reviews.
On May 14, the Museum’s senior, curatorial, and education staff gathered to honor the BMA Docents. The event not only helped wrap up the Museum’s year-long slate of 60th anniversary programs but also paid tribute to the long and dedicated service of this special group of volunteers.
Docent facts:
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There are 57 Touring Docents, 19 Senior Docents, and 4 Life Docents. The Class of 2011 included 13 new docent trainees. Combined, these 93 docents have contributed 1,088 years of service to the Museum.
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Virginia Hillhouse, Class of 1972, is the longest-serving docent at 40 years. Bonnie Church and Marilyn Smith, Class of 1982, each has 30 years of service. Jim Stapleton, Class of 1992, marks 20 years of service in 2012.
This year, the docents also committed to establish an endowment that underwrites the cost of using school buses for field trips to the Museum—a program that may contribute to reversing the long-term declines in school visits to cultural institutions. “I am most proud of the docents for raising almost half of the total commitment this year,” said Cathye McDonald, 2011-12 docent chair. “It is a legacy docents leave to area school children that reflects our commitment to the docent program and its value to the community.”
Mary Hubbard, Class of 2011, looks forward to setting new milestones with her fellow docent trainees. “Art has been the essential starting point of our learning enterprise, but we’ve learned that without people, works of art are simply inert objects displayed in a handsome building. With persistence, we can learn how to be co-adventurers with the museum’s visitors, trading roles as both students and teachers along the way.”
For more information about the docent program and our next training class, click here.
In June, the Museum hosted the second annual week-long teacher workshop on arts integration for the Straight A’s Program of the Birmingham City Schools. The program is currently measuring the impact of arts-integration academic partnerships between classroom teachers and teaching artists on fourth grade literacy and mathematics skills over a three-year period in nine Birmingham City elementary schools. The program supports these classroom-teaching partnerships through professional development and intensive school-based curriculum mapping.
The Birmingham City Schools and the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham are partners in the program that was awarded $1.16 million from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. The Museum’s Education Department has organized a complimentary program targeting the third-graders and the community at large at each of the nine participating Straight A’s schools.
As part of the one-year commemoration of the devastating tornadoes that destroyed much of Pratt City on April 27, 2011, the City of Birmingham, the BMA, and the community of Pratt City collaborated on an artistic project to mark the occasion. During the month of April, Artist-in-Residence Toby Richards and contract artist Pansy Nelson engaged students from Daniel Payne Middle School in this creative initiative. Approximately 35 students who attend the after-school program, cosponsored by the First United Presbyterian Church of Forestdale and other community volunteers, contributed to the project. Students created ten 4' × 8' paintings that celebrate life, community, and hope. These bright, celebratory murals were installed in front of the Pratt City Library as part of a construction-zone barrier, while the library is being rebuilt. The panels were unveiled on April 28 at a community gathering in front of the library. We hope these works of art not only showcase the talents and spirit of Pratt City’s youth, but also provide a colorful burst of community pride and inspiration.
Our wildly popular summer series Art on the Rocks is back! Art on the Rocks dates: June 29, July 20, August 17, September 7. In its 8th season, Art on the Rocks will be themed around our summer exhibition, Warhol and Cars: American Icons. Come out this summer to enjoy live outdoor music, food and drinks in our newly renovated sculpture garden, graffiti artists' demonstration, interactive art scavenger hunts, photobooths and much more. Click here for more information.
June 3, 2012, 11am-2pm. Enjoy delicious, locally-grown dishes from Oscar's seasonal brunch menu in the beauty and comfort of the Museum with your family and friends. Space is limited. To make reservations, call 205.328.7850 or click here to reserve your spot online.
Friday, June 8, noon
Nan Skier, Museum docent, board member, and lover of lover's eyes, gives one final talk about the collection before the exhibition closes on June 10. Discover the intriguing stories of love and romance associated with these fascinating objects, and the passion for collecting that started it all!
You’ve seen him weekly appraising treasures on PBS, on Find!, and the FOX reality show Buried Treasure. Now, hear what the engaging and accomplished Leigh Keno has to say about collecting and enjoying antiques in the 21st century. Joining Leigh during his presentation will be Keno Auctions paintings consultant Betty Krulik.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Birmingham Museum of Art, Steiner Auditorium
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Leigh Keno’s lifelong immersion in the world of art and antiques has made him one of the foremost experts in the field. Come learn more about the exciting new finds he has made as founder and president of Keno Auctions and his most dramatic discoveries of extraordinary works during his more-than 30-year career in the auction world, as a dealer, and on television.
Betty Krulik, a nationally-recognized figure in the American paintings area, brings with her more than 30 years of experience in the U.S. market, and will offer a lively discussion about the collection of pictures at the Birmingham Museum of Art and areas of opportunity in collecting.
Due to the popularity of this event, the parking lot is expected to fill quickly, so please come early! This lecture is free and open to the public.
Sunday, May 20, 5-7pm, FREE
Experience the rich traditions of India through live music! The Museum and the Indian Cultural Society are pleased to present an evening of classical Indian music with renowned artists Pt. Subhen Chatterjee (Tabla), Pt. Snehasish Mozumder (Mandolin), and Pt. Rupak Kulkari (Flute).
