WASHINGTON—The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) will participate in Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and museums across the United States to offer free admission to the nation’s active duty military personnel and their families starting on Armed Services Day May 15, 2021. A list of participating museums nationwide is available here. Advanced reservation of free tickets is highly encouraged.
Blue Star families can take this opportunity to explore NMWA’s collection as well as the exhibitions Mary Ellen Mark: Girlhood, featuring Mark’s poignant snapshots of depicting young women and girls around the world; Sonya Clark: Bristle, Tatter, and Mend,a survey of Clark’s famous fiber and mixed-media works that address topics of race, heritage and visibility; and Julie Chen: True to Life, whichincludes over a dozen sculptural art books spanning the artist’s 33-year career.
“We are proud to once again participate in Blue Star Museums to honor the service and sacrifice of the military,” said NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling. “As a Blue Star Museum located in our nation’s capital, we feel a deep connection with military families and look forward to sharing our collection and exhibitions with them.”
“Like the resilience that military families demonstrate time and again, the National Museum of Women in the Arts is an example of resiliency in the arts sector over the past year,” said Ann Eilers, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “We are grateful to NWMA for their leadership in strengthening community through their participation in the Blue Star Museums program this summer.”
Blue Star Museums include children’s museums, art, science and history museums, zoos, gardens, lighthouses and more, and hail from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The current list of participating museums will continue to develop as organizations register to be a Blue Star Museum throughout the summer.
The free admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States Military—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard as well as members of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps and up to five family members. Qualified members must show a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card for entrance into a participating Blue Star Museum.
National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.
Blue Star Families
Blue Star Families is the nation’s largest grass-roots military family support organization, with a mission to support military families to improve military readiness. Its distinctive approach builds stronger communities around military families through knowledge and programs that address the unique needs of those who serve. Blue Star Families’ nationally recognized surveys and analysis give military families an important voice that informs policymakers and its military family programs. It uses the power of its collective resources and cross-sector collaborations to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of members of military families to strengthen the troops, their families, and our nation as a whole. For more information, visit bluestarfam.org.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts. With its collections, exhibitions, programs and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today. The collections highlight painting, sculpture, photography and video by artists including Louise Bourgeois, Mary Cassatt, Judy Chicago, Frida Kahlo, Shirin Neshat, Faith Ringgold, Pipilotti Rist and Élisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun. NMWA is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. It is open Mon.–Sat., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sun., noon–5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for visitors 65 and over and students, and free for NMWA members and youths 18 and under. Admission is free the first Sunday of each month. For information, call 202-783-5000, visit nmwa.org, Broad Strokes Blog, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.