army brats please pack the museums
Memorial Day weekend sounds free rein all summer long for military families atMFAH
Attention soldiers: It's culture time. In a partnership with 600 art institutions, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has announced the launch of Blue Star Museums, an initiative with the National Endowment for the Arts to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2010.
So that military families can take advantage of Memorial Day weekend, the MFAH will begin the program earlier, on Friday, May 28. The opportunity also extends to the MFAH's two house museums, Bayou Bend and Rienzi.
"The MFAH joins museums around the country to thank military staff for their service," museum director Peter Marzio said.
Military families can now easily explore significant summer exhibitions, such as a retrospective of "cowboy artist" Charles Russell, opening June 6, and an "exquisite" exhibition of Ishimoto Yasuhiro's photographs of Katsura, an imperial retreat in Japan, unveiling June 20. Summer months at the museum abound with family activities, so this initiative is particularly timely.
National Endowment for the Arts chairman Rocco Landesman said, "America's museums are proud to join the rest of the country in thanking our military personnel and their families for their service and sacrifice. I cannot imagine a better way to do that than welcoming them in to explore and enjoy the extraordinary cultural heritage our museums present.
"The works of art on view this summer will inspire and challenge viewers, and sometimes they will just be a great deal of fun."