Butler to Open Sendak Exhibit, Observe Museum Day
YOUNGTSTOWN, Ohio -- The Butler Institute of American Art will host a free reception for family day activities as part of the Association of Art Museum Directors’ Art Museum DayMay 18. This will coincide with International Museum Day.
Last year, the Butler -- along with more than 170 other AAMD member museums across North America -- participated in Art Museum Day, which emphasizes the essential role that art museums play in their communities, highlights the value of the visual arts in society, and provides new opportunities for audiences to participate in the wide-ranging programs offered by AAMD member museums.
This year, the Butler is presenting the family-friendly “Maurice Sendak: Memorial Exhibition.” The Butler also invites visitors to share their experiences on Art Museum Day via social media with the hashtag #ArtMuseumDay."
“With free admission and parking daily, and an active program for families, the Butler remains one of America’s most accessible museums of art," said Louis Zona, executive director of The Butler.
A new interactive cell phone tour is launching in the Maurice Sendak exhibition. This mobile interpretive program, powered by OnCell, features selected stops posted throughout the galleries. Visitors can listen to the tour content at their own time and pace -- dialing in with their cell phones -- by streaming live audio using their own smartphones or by downloading the tour at home onto their MP3 players or tablets.
This exhibition was funded in part by the Thomases Family Endowment of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, the Zita M.&Jospeh DiYorio Charitable Foundation and the Frances & Lillian Schermer Charitable Trust. This exhibition was organized by Opar Inc. and AFA, New York, with support from AFA Fine Art. The exhibition opens at 1 p.m. May 18 and will will feature a free family day, a reception and Mayor John McNally reading Where the Wild Things Are.
The newly redesigned Sweeney Children’s Gallery will offer hands-on activities for children during the run of the show. Youngsters will have the opportunity to create their own “Wild Things” through several media. The gallery is on the lower level of the museum.
Maurice Sendak died in 2012 at the age of 83, but his legacy as one of America’s most beloved illustrators and story tellers lives on in his books, operas, films and art. Where the Wild Things Are remains his signature work.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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