There’s something for everyone at the Academy Art Museum in April: special events, exhibitions, classes, concerts and much more.
Exhibitions
These exhibitions are sponsored by the Talbot County Arts Council, the Maryland State Arts Council, and Chesapeake Publishing.
Paulette Tavormina: Seizing Beauty
April 23 – July 10, 2016
Curator-Led Tours: Wednesday, May 4, 12 noon & Wednesday, June 15, 12 noon
Paulette Tavormina’s photographs of still life arrangements often recall the sumptuous detail of seventeenth century Old Masters like Francisco de Zurbarán, Adriaen Coorte, and Giovanna Garzoni. Tavormina’s work can be found in museum, corporate, and private collections around the globe. She is also an active commercial photographer, photographing artworks for Sotheby’s, collaborating with The Fabulous Beekman Boys on their cookbooks, and commissions from “The New York Times” and “National Geographic” magazine, among others. Tavormina has also been a prop and food stylist for major Hollywood films and her work has been seen in “The Perfect Storm,” “Nixon,” and “The Astronaut’s Wife.” Tavormina’s first monograph, “Paulette Tavormina: Seizing Beauty” (The Monacelli Press, New York, 2016), which features an essay by the Academy Art Museum’s Senior Curator Anke Van Wagenberg, will be released in April 2016.
Peter Milton: Living Old Master
April 23 – July 18, 2016
Peter Winslow Milton (1930) is a major force in the printmaking world. Milton began his artistic life as a painter, but in the mid 1960s and restricted by color blindness he abandoned that medium and began to distinguish himself as a printmaker through his mastery of texture. He has taught at Yale and the Maryland Institute of Art, served as visiting artist at Dartmouth, Columbia, Yale, and the Rhode Island School of Design, as well as many other schools, and has been honored by awards at international exhibitions including Cali, Seoul, Lvov and Cracow. He is a creator of black and white etchings and engravings that often display an extraordinary degree of photo-realistic detail placed in the service of a truly visionary aesthetic. His themes include architecture, history, myth, and memory, their intersections and hidden juxtapositions. The Academy Art Museum is privileged to have of Peter Milton’s prints in its Permanent Collection. The exhibition was made possible with support from Jane Haslem in Washington, DC and The Old Print Shop in New York.
Selections from the Grover Batts Collection
March 19 – August 7, 2016
During his life time, Washington resident Grover Batts donated close to 200 works on paper to the Academy Art Museum, exerting a significant on its collection. His support of the Museum began when he and his partner owned a summer home in Bellevue, MD and became familiar with it. While working at the Library of Congress, Mr. Batts’s interest in the Library’s art exhibitions sparked a passion for collecting. In time his Capitol Hill home filled with art. Upon his death in July 2014 Mr. Batts left dozens more artworks to the Museum. His magnanimous gift includes works by renowned late 19th and 20th century American and European artists. A first selection of this major gift will be on view in the Calvert Gallery.
Brooke Rogers: In the Offing
April 23 – June 12, 2016
Brooke Rogers grew up in Ocean City, MD. After college in suburban Chicago, he studied with Abstract Expressionist Grace Hartigan at the Maryland Institute. He earned his MFA from MICA in 1992. He stayed in Baltimore for a time, taught at MICA and established a painting studio of his own. Brooke moved back to Ocean City in the 1990s and currently teaches at Salisbury University. His work has been exhibited widely in the Mid-Atlantic region. Living near the ocean is an important influence on his work, which has ranged from abstraction in a reductive vein, to a somewhat cartoony figuration. Minimalism and Pop Art have held sway over his work in a back-and-forth manner. Abstraction has won out in recent years.
Special Events
Slow Art Day
April 11, 2016, 11 am – 1pm
FREE
On Slow Art Day, the Academy Art Museum focuses on engaging visitors with physical works of art – how paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other media are perceived, considered, and experienced by the viewer. In our digital age, museums are increasingly trying to deliver “snackable” digital content – short bursts of entertaining and enlightening information delivered through social media initiatives or interactive installations. The question is: “Can museums offer an immersive, engaging digital experience that avoids superficiality and truly deepens the visitor’s experience of a work of art without relying on gimmicks?”
Senior Curator Anke Van Wagenberg will lead the Museum’s Slow Art Day, evaluating five artworks from the Museum’s Permanent Collection. Simply come the Academy Art Museum on April 11th prepared totake time looking at five pieces of art slowly, and participating in an informal discussion afterwards. You can also continue your experience over lunch in a local venue or by bringing a brown bag lunch to the Museum. For further information, contact Anke Van Wagenberg at 410-822-2787 or by email at [email protected].
Lectures
Kittredge-Wilson Speaker Series
Cost: Individual Tickets $15 Members, $20 Non-members
Wendy A. Cooper, Curator Emerita of Furniture, Winterthur Museum
April 21, 6 p.m.
Following the American Revolution, there were many changes in the lives of the new American upper classes as they had more leisure time, as well as disposable income. Architectural styles changed, country houses in a new Federal style were erected, and the furniture these houses were furnished with looked very different. The vogue for this high style painted furniture was influenced by English designs and entire suites were produced to ornament rooms that in summer weather, opened out onto porches and lawns. This illustrated lecture will explore some of the country places built from New England to the southern states and the furniture that graced their interiors.
Adult Classes and Workshops
Workshops
Saturdays en Plein Air!
Mentor: Diane DuBois Mullaly
Monthly: the last Saturday of each month, April – October, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
FREE to Members of the Museum
Monthly Coffee and Critique
Mentors: Katie Cassidy and Diane DuBois Mullaly
First Fridays: April 1
Time, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Cost: $10 per person payable at the door. Complimentary coffee and snacks.
Drawing
Using Negative Space to Improve Your Drawing Skills
Instructor: Constance Del Nero
4 weeks: April 1 – 22
Fridays, 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Cost: $100 Members, $130 Non-members
See It, Draw It! A Sketchbook Class
Instructor: Katie Cassidy
4 weeks: April 12 – May 3
Tuesdays, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Cost: $145 Members, $175 Non-members
Painting
Marine Painting Techniques
Instructor: Matthew Hillier
4 weeks: April 9 – 30
Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Cost: $210 Members, $240 Non-members
Mixed Media
Book Arts: Words on a Page
Instructor: Joan Machinchick
4 weeks: April 14 – May 5
Thursdays, 10 a.m. -3 p.m.
Cost: $235 Members, $265 Non-members
($25 materials fee payable to instructor)
Mosaic Workshop
Instructor: Sheryl Southwick
2 Days, April 5 and 6
Tuesday 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. and Wednesday 9 a.m.-12 noon
iPhone and Tablet Classes
Art on your Tablet or iPad
Instructor: Scott Kane
2 Days: April 13 and 20
Wednesdays, 6 – 8 p.m.
Cost: $50 Members, $80 Non-members
Running Your Smart Home on Your Android or iPhone Smartphone
Instructor: Scott Kane
1 Day: April 27
Wednesdays, 6 – 8 p.m.
Cost: $25 Members, $55 Non-members
Adult Dance
Adult Ballroom & Latin Dance, Amanda Showell (410) 482-6169, ww.dancingontheshore.com
Children’s Programming
eARTh Day Art Extravaganza!
Saturday, April 9, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Cost: $5 per child (parents free)
Save the planet and get creative! Before you throw out that old can, bottle cap, magazine etc…think about what you might do with it to keep it in use. Better yet, come to the Academy Art Museum’s eARTh Day Extravaganza and make some great projects to take back home. This event is offered at the Museum in conjunction with the MidShore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC) and was co-developed with Suzanne Sullivan, MRC’s education and volunteer coordinator.
Children’s Craft Saturdays at the Museum
Come join the Museum staff for an afternoon of holiday crafts. We will create one or more seasonal projects that children can take home to keep or give as gifts.
Mother’s Day, Saturday, April 30
Time: 1-3 p.m.
Cost: $5
Pre-registration is required. Class size is limited. Scholarships are available.
High School Student Concert
Best of Broadway! TCPS High School Musical Performance
Wednesday, April 27, 5:30 p.m.
FREE!
No need to board a bus for New York City to hear Broadway favorites! High school students from Talbot County Public School will be performing a variety of show tunes at the Museum. While there is no charge to attend Best of Broadway, donations are welcome and will be used to support TCPS’ music programs.
2016 Student Art Exhibitions
March 21 – April 10– Grades K-8 in the Healy and Selections Galleries
Opening Reception: Monday, March 21, 4:30-6 p.m.
Door prizes given out at 5pm. You must be present to win.
March 21 – April 10 – Grades 9-12 in the Lederer and Atrium Galleries
Opening Reception: Tuesday, March 22, 5:30-7 p.m.
Awards presented at 6 p.m. Students MUST be present to win a prize.
The Museum is pleased to present its annual Mid-Shore Student Art Exhibitions. These exhibitions highlight the artistic talents of students in grades K-12 from Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, and Queen Anne’s counties. As in past years, visitors can expect a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and printmaking. The Mid-Shore Student Art Exhibitions have been a Museum tradition for over 25 years and are the largest and most prestigious student art exhibitions on the Eastern Shore. This year ALL grades will exhibit their art at the same time.
Homeschool Sessions Continue
Instructors are Constance Del Nero for ages 6 to 9 years (Drawing Studio) and Susan Horsey for ages 10+ (Painting Studio)
Spring Session: April 15 – May 27 (Note that there are NO classes on May 6)
Cost (per session): $90 Members, $100 Non-members
New this year: Siblings attend for $60
The Museum offers art classes for the area’s home-schooled children, ages 6 and up. Classes focus on fine art techniques and materials. A variety of media will be explored. Students visit the Museum’s exhibitions when appropriate. All classes meet on Fridays from 1-2:30pm.
Children’s Dance
Pre-Ballet & Pre-Tap Classes, Classical Ballet Classes, Tap Classes, Jazz Classes
Contact the Ballet Theatre of Maryland for additional information or to register for classes. 410-224-5644.
Voice & Piano Lessons
Instructor: Erika Knepp
(443) 254-0157
Exploring techniques, performance skills, and even stress therapy can be a part of each individualized program. Contact the instructor directly for lesson schedule and cost.
Mini Masters Academy
An Early Enrichment Program for Children ages 2-4
In Partnership with the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center
Mini Masters Academy introduces young children to new ideas through a thematic approach to learning that emphasizes relationships and the ability to make meaningful connections. The school year continues through May 13, 2016. The program follows the vacation and cancellation schedule of the Talbot County Schools. The schedule is flexible. Two-year-olds can attend either 2 or 3 days per week, while 3 and 4-year-olds can attend up to 4 days per week with an option to attend a full day program. Complete information packets are available at the Museum or online at academyartmuseum.org
For further information on any exhibitions, classes, or programs or to register, visit academyartmuseum.org or call 410-822-2787.
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