The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts announced that it will offer free admission to Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria on May18 as part of the Association of Art Museum Directors’ (AAMD) Art Museum Day. General admission to VMFA is always free.
Coinciding with International Museum Day on May 18, 2011, Art Museum Day will also focus on the theme of “museum and memory.” Participation by AAMD member museums emphasizes the lasting influence art museums have on their communities, highlights the value of the visual arts in society, and provides new opportunities for audiences to participate in the wide-ranging programs that art museums offer. In 2010, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts along with 90 other AAMD member museums across North America participated in International Museum Day.
“The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ permanent collections span the history of humankind’s creativity across the globe from ancient art to the 21st century,” VMFA Director Alex Nyerges said. “On this important day, we underscore the educational importance of museums by offering free admission for all visitors to the Dynasty and Divinity exhibition, which is located adjacent to our superb African art collection.”
AAMD member museums—located across the United States, Canada and Mexico—include smaller regional museums as well as large international institutions. International Museum Day is organized annually around the world by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). AAMD’s Art Museum Day is an opportunity to focus attention on the role of art museums in North America, as part of ICOM’s global celebration of museums.
Kaywin Feldman, president of AAMD and director and president of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, said: “Art Museum Day is an opportunity to celebrate the collective memory of human creativity, both past and present, that art museums hold in the public trust. AAMD believes that art should be accessible and relevant to all, and we are so pleased that Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is joining with us and the global community of museums to create new opportunities for audiences to engage with museum collections and programs.”
Image: The newly-expanded Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photography by Bilyana Dimitrova © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
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