Kristen Levesque
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Seven Congress Square
Portland, Maine 04101
(207) 775-6148 ext. 3223
klevesque@portlandmuseum.org
Release: June 7, 2010
Portland Museum of Art Participates in Blue Star Museums Program
(Portland, Maine) The Portland Museum of Art is participating in the Blue Star Museums Program, a partnership among Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts, and more than 750 museums in all 50 states to offer free admission to military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
The free admission program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card, or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active duty military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard), National Guard and Reserve members, and up to five immediate family members.
Blue Star Families will enjoy the following summer exhibitions at the Portland Museum of Art: American Moderns: Masterworks on Paper from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 1910-1960 (June 24 through September 12); Winslow Homer and the Poetics of Place (through September 6); Division and Discovery: Recent Work by Frederick Lynch (through July 11); and Anna Hepler: Makeshift (July 24 through October 12).
For a list of Blue Star Museums participating in this program, visit www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. For more information about the Portland Museum of Art, visit www.portlandmuseum.org.
About Blue Star Families
Blue Star Families is a national, non-partisan, non-profit network of military families from all ranks and services including guard and reserve, with a mission to support, connect and empower military families. In addition to morale and empowerment programs, Blue Star Families raises awareness of the challenges and strengths of military family life with civilian community and leaders. Membership includes spouses, kids, parents, service members, veterans and civilians. Operation Appreciation is an initiative of Blue Star Families that seeks to connect military families to the larger community. Blue Star Families 2009 annual survey shows that 94 percent of military families feel that the larger community doesn’t truly understand or appreciate the sacrifices we make for the country. Through initiatives such as Blue Star Museums, Blue Star Families provides avenues for the larger community to show that they do understand, in meaningful ways that enrich the lives of military service members, spouses, children and parents. For more information, please visit www.BlueStarFam.org.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts-both new and established-bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest annual national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.
Museum Information
The Portland Museum of Art is located at Seven Congress Square in downtown Portland. The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. Memorial Day through Columbus Day, the Museum is open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students with I.D., $4 for youth ages 6 to 17, and children under 6 are free. The Museum is free on Friday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Museum Cafe and Store. For more information, call (207) 775-6148. Web site www.portlandmuseum.org.