TMA Director, Others Discuss 'Museums and Memory'
TOLEDO, OHIO—To celebrate International Museum Day, directors of three distinguished Midwest art museums will discuss ?Museums and Memory? during a public forum Wednesday, May 18 at the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA).
The Masters Series presentation at 6 p.m. in the Peristyle features Graham W. J. Beal, director of the Detroit Institute of Arts since 1999; David Franklin, director of the Cleveland Museum of Art since Sept. 20, 2010, and Brian Kennedy, director of TMA since September 1, 2010. Noted journalist, art critic and blogger Judith H. Dobrzynski will moderate the panel.
The International Council of Museums established International Museum Day in 1977 to increase public awareness of the role museums play in society. This year museums worldwide are offering programs that focus on how museums store memory through the objects in their collections and how these objects tell stories about their communities.
The art museums of Toledo (est. 1901), Cleveland (1913) and Detroit (1885) were founded by wealthy patrons and borne of the industrial revolution. Today these museums are among the finest in the United States, yet all three must deal with the challenges of economic downturns and changing demographics in their communities.
And, interestingly, the men who currently lead these museums were all were born outside the United States. TMA's Kennedy is a native of Dublin, Ireland; DIA's Beal was born in Britain at Stratford-on-Avon, and CMA's Franklin hails from Quebec, Canada.
Their wide-ranging discussion is free and open to the public. Peristyle doors open at 5:30 p.m.
The presentation is one of several International Museum Day activities planned at TMA. Parking, admission to the Museum and admission to all exhibitions, including the Baroque World of Fernando Botero and The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, are free that day.
Many area residents have fond childhood memories of the Swiss Room. Visitors on May 18 can have their photographs taken there between 11 and noon and 4–5 p.m. The images will be posted on Flickr.
In addition, visiting hours to the Museum are extended. The Main Museum will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
For more information about these and other programs at the Toledo Museum of Art, visit www.toledomuseum.org.
Press Release Contact Name: Teri Sharp
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: Toledo Museum of Art