Block Party Time! Last Saturday The Blanton Museum of Art threw a big party and opened up their doors—and their lawn—to the public. The Blanton was celebrating the remodeling / reopening of their upstairs galleries, plus the opening of a new temporary exhibit on the first floor.
Two of Austin’s art museums, The Contemporary Austin-Jones Center and the Blanton Museum of Art, recently completed major renovation projects. Both museums are worth a return visit if you haven’t been there lately.
A new exhibit, Stories to Tell has recently opened at the Harry Ransom Center, a research library / museum located on the University of Texas campus. This exhibit consists of over 250 items which demonstrates the wide range of the Ransom’s Center collection. Stories to Tell remains open through mid-July. Admission is free.
Community Altars: A Celebration of Life is an annual exhibit held at Austin’s Mexic-Arte Museum on Congress Avenue. Ofrendas (altars) are created to honor deceased members of the Latino/a and Mexican communities, in conjunction with the Catholic Holy Days of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (November 1 and 2). These colorful ofrendas will remain on display at the museum through November 13.
The Texas Military Forces Museum is located near the parade grounds at Camp Mabry. I have always wondered about this museum while sitting in Mopac traffic, so I was glad to finally visit. The base’s entrance is actually on West 35th Street, but the guards will direct visitors over to the museum building.
Located in a three-story building on the corner of Congress Avenue and Fourth Street, the Mexic-Arte Museum is the official Mexican art museum of the state of Texas. Throughout the year, the museum stages various exhibitions of Mexican, Latino, and Latin American art in their two exhibit spaces. A gift store is located inside the main entrance.
After touring Oakwood Cemetery on Austin Museum Day, I decided that this interesting historical site deserved its own blog entry. Established in 1839, Oakwood is Austin’s oldest cemetery. The grounds cover 40 acres, the same size as the original University of Texas campus (still nicknamed “The 40 Acres.”)
Exactly one year ago, I had marked Austin Museum Day 2015 on my calendar. I always enjoy this September Sunday when local museums and historical sites open their doors free-of-charge to visitors. This year I carefully planned my day ahead of time, bypassing the popular museums that I could visit any time. Instead I selected those places that are usually closed to the public or off the beaten track…
Recently Bill and I visited the Stark Center for Physical Culture & Sports. This museum is located in the north section of the University of Texas football stadium. We followed the posted signs which instructed us to enter near the main food court (Gate 16) and take the elevator to the fifth floor.
The Blanton Museum of Art is located on the southern end of the University of Texas campus. Built in 2004, their current two-story home has plenty of space for hosting temporary exhibitions and for displaying pieces from their extensive permanent collection of over 17,000 works.