For Immediate Release
May 13, 2011

Media Contact:
Daniela Oliver, 210.805.1754
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McNay Art Museum TO JOIN IN
ASSOCIATION OF ART MUSEUM DIRECTORS
CELEBRATION OF ART MUSEUM DAY ON MAY 18th 2011
 
FREE ADMISSION ON Wednesday, May 18, 2011
AS PART OF GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO HONOR MUSEUMS
 
San Antonio, TX- May 13, 2011- The McNay Art Museum announced today that it will offer free admission on
May 18th, 2011 as part of the Association of Art Museum Directors' (AAMD) Art Museum Day: Museum and
Memory. In addition, the McNay will highlight works  of art that are part of San Antonio's memory.   Coinciding
with International Museum Day on May 18, 2011, Art Museum Day will also focus around the theme of
"museum and memory."  Participation by AAMD member museums emphasizes the lasting impact art
museums have on their communities, highlight the value of the visual arts in society, and provide new
opportunities for audiences to participate in the wide-ranging programs that art museums offer.  In 2011, The
McNay along with ninety other AAMD member museums across North America participates in International
Museum Day. 
 
McNay: Free admission on May 18, 2011. Visitors will discover works of art that are part of San Antonio's
Memory
 
"We are delighted to be able to participate in International Museum Day and this year's theme of Museum and
Memory stresses the power of works of art to enter our minds and hearts and stay with us for a lifetime."said
William Chiego, McNay director.
 
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.
 
"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," said Kaywin Feldman, President of AAMD and Director
and President of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  "AAMD believes that art should be accessible and relevant
to all, and we are so pleased that The McNay is joining with us and the global community of museums to
create new opportunities for audiences to engage with museum collections and programs."
 
A comprehensive list of participating AAMD member art museums will be available in the newsroom of the
AAMD website (http://www.aamd.org/newsroom/).  Note that while AAMD's Art Museum Day and ICOM's
International Museum Day is formally held each year on May 18th, some institutions shift their celebrations to
adjacent dates.

The McNay
Built by artist and educator Marion Koogler McNay in the 1920s, the Spanish Colonial Revival-style residence opened as Texas's first museum of modern
art in 1954. Today more than 100,000 visitors a year enjoy works by modern masters including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper,
Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  In June 2008, the museum opened the 45,000-square-foot Jane and Arthur
Stieren Center for Exhibitions designed by internationally renowned French architect Jean-Paul Viguier. Nearly doubling the McNay's exhibition space,
the Stieren Center includes three separate outdoor sculpture galleries.
         
Tuesday-Friday, 10 am-4 pm;
Thursday, 10 am-9 pm;
Saturday, 10 am-5 pm;
Sunday, noon-5 pm.
The McNay is closed on Mondays, New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
         
General Admission
This exhibtion is included in the general admission ticket price.
 
McNay members, free; Children 12 and under, free; Adults, $8; Students 12 and under, $5;
Seniors (65+),  $5; Active Military, $5. 
An extra admission charge of $5 applies during special exhibitions. There is no charge for general admission on Thursday nights and on the first
Sunday of the month. At these times, the extra admission charge applies only for entrance to the special exhibition.
 
 
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