In celebration of International Museum Day on May 18, Austin Museum of Art (AMOA) will be opening its doors to all with free admission at both of its locations. AMOA-Arthouse will be offering a special discounted price to play the artist-designed miniature golf exhibition, Art on the Green, at the Laguna Gloria location, only two days before the exhibition closes on May 20, 2012. The museum’s downtown location, the Jones Center, encourages the public to come by, take advantage of the free admission, and view Texas Prize, the triennial juried exhibition that awards one Texas-based artist $30,000.
Art on the Green is an outdoor installation, a social event for all ages, and a new type of art experience. Austin artists, architects, and landscape architects designed the ten interactive, miniature golf holes, which range from playful to smart, humorous to sophisticated. Visitors can play the nine-hole course while exploring Laguna Gloria’s formal and picturesque grounds and outdoor sculptures. A bonus tenth hole encourages play in the downtown lobby of the Jones Center.
Art on the Green Exhibit at Laguna Gloria
The Texas Prize recognizes innovation, talent, and a marked contribution to a thriving Texas artistic community. A diverse group of Texas-based professionals nominates several contemporary artists. A separate international jury of artists, curators, and scholars then selects three finalists for an exhibition and full-color catalogue. One finalist receives a $30,000 prize — the most significant ongoing initiative supporting emerging and under-recognized professional artists working in the state.
2012 Texas Prize Finalists:
Jamal Cyrus is a mixed media artist whose work addresses revisionist history, radical politics, and the various uses of sound throughout the African Diaspora. (Houston)
Will Henry’s paintings combine austere West Texas landscapes with Minimalist art to achieve mysterious effects and dry humor. (Houston)
Jeff Williams uses natural phenomena and industrial materials to create site-specific sculptural works that intervene in a structures architecture. (Austin)
On Friday, May 18, visitors to Laguna Gloria will be able to play the Art on the Green course for a discounted price of $4 adults/$2 children for non-members, and $2 adults/ $1 children for members. Also on view at Laguna Gloria during this time are Collection Selections: The Barrett Collection in the Driscoll Villa, and the perennial Seeing Special Things Student Art Exhibition in the Gatehouse Gallery. At the Jones Center, the aforementioned Texas Prize is on view, in addition to Amie Siegel’s exhibition Black Moon, plus Julia Oschatz’ film Odds and Ends: Venus, and Ezra Wube’s Amora on the Congress Avenue screen.
In recognition of the important role museums play in their communities, AMOA-Arthouse invites visitors to share their museum experiences during Art Museum Day on a special printed form (available at both locations, and via social media) with the hashtag #ArtMuseumDay in a collective public response. Participation in the international event highlights the value of the visual arts in society, and provides new opportunities for audiences to participate in wide-ranging programs and record their encounters with works of art.
"A Burning Man" by Will Henry, part of the Texas Prize display at the Jones Center
“With our recent merger behind us, we are extraordinarily pleased to be invited to participate in this international event,” said Jack Nokes, interim executive director of AMOA-Arthouse. “By showcasing our two architecturally-significant locations on this special day, our hope is that more people from across Central Texas will become familiar with the museum, our exhibitions, public programs, and education initiatives…whether that be through viewing the work of our three Texas Prize finalists at the Jones Center, or spending an afternoon playing our phenomenally-successful miniature golf exhibition, Art on the Green, at Laguna Gloria.”
In 2011, more than 100 other museums across North America participated in International Museum Day.
