Giving Back

21 North Texas museums offer free admission to military families this summer

Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum presents Rise Up

The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum is part of the Blue Star Museums initiative.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum

Nearly two dozen Dallas-Fort Worth museums are honoring active duty military personnel and their families with free admission through the Blue Star Museums initiative, May 20-September 4, 2023.

Established by the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the U.S. Department of Defense, the Blue Star Museums program annually provides military families free access to 2,000 museums nationwide throughout the summer. The program begins yearly on Armed Forces Day in May and ends on Labor Day.

Free admission is extended to personnel currently serving in the U.S Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard (including those in the Reserve), and all National Guardsman. Members of the U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps and NOAA Commissioned Corps are also included in the program.

Those who qualify can use their military ID to bring up to five family members - including relatives of those currently deployed. More information about qualifications can be found here.

There is no limit on the number of participating museums that qualifying families may visit. Admission for non-active military veterans, however, is not included.

According to the National Endowment for the Arts website, the initiative was created to help "improve the quality of life for active duty military families" with a specific focus on children. The site states 2 million have had a parent deployed since 2001.

"Blue Star Museums was created to show support for military families who have faced multiple deployments and the challenges of reintegration," the organizers say. "This program offers these families a chance to visit museums this summer when many will have limited resources and limited time to be together."

In Dallas-Fort Worth, participating institutions include well-known art, science, and history museums, as well as smaller museums outside the city limits. Here's a look at all the museums in North Texas that are participating in the Blue Star Museums initiative this year.

In Dallas:

In Fort Worth:

In Garland:

Heritage Crossing – Garland Landmark Museum

In Irving:

Irving Archives and Museum

In Mesquite:

In Cleburne:

In Krum:

Krum Heritage Museum

In Sanger:

Sanger Area Historical Society Museum

More information about Blue Star Museums and a full list of participants can be found on arts.gov.

museums dallas fort worth

MUST-SEE ART

Warm up to these 8 must-see art exhibitions in Dallas-Fort Worth for June

Photo courtesy of Arden Bendler Browning

Arden Bendler Browning shares her perspective on movement, time, and place in a solo show at Galleri Urbane this month.

As the lazy days of summer approach, the frenetic pace of art festivals and exhibits quiets down a bit. But that doesn’t mean artists' voices are hushed; they’re coming through loud and clear.

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth digs deep into post-war paintings, Dallas Center for Photography delivers a look at the compelling vision of women in photography, and several group exhibitions explore a range of media and subject matter.

Art lovers ready to welcome (or seek respite from) the warmth of June should put these eight exhibits on their must-see list.

Artist's Retrospective
Lewisville Grand Theatre, through July 8
Works by members of the Visual Art League (VAL) of Lewisville will be on display this month in the art gallery in Lewisville's Grand Theater. Each entry in the show judged by Denton-area artist Laurie Weller represents a self-retrospective of its artist. Since 1978, VAL has provided support and education for member artists, while members have judged student arts shows and taught art classes to senior citizens. Like all VAL events and programming, this exhibition is free and open to the public. And if you're a first-time visitor to this stunning theatre and arts center, you'll immediately understand why local art feels right at home here.

Madeline Donahue:"Art House"
Various Small Fires - Dallas, through July 8
Experiences of pregnancy, birth, motherhood and owning a postpartum body can be exemplars of the complexity of the mother-and-child relationship. Having experienced all of the above, Madeline Donahue explores all of them with oil paintings and colored pencil drawings on paper in this contemporary art solo show.

Robert Motherwell: "Pure Painting"
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, through September 17
Abstract expressionist Robert Motherwell explored political, philosophical, and literary themes in various art forms throughout his life (1915-1991) while communicating as a spokesman for an art movement that wasn't particularly well-understood in its early days. Motherwell was a painter of note from the post-war period, but also showed talent as a collagist, a printmaker, and a draftsman. The Modern was the site for the last retrospective of Motherwell's work during his lifetime, and the museum owns more than 50 of his works. That makes it a perfect fit as a venue for this guest-curated retrospective focusing on his paintings.

"Hold Up Half the Sky"
Dallas Center for Photography (DCP), through-July 1
This photography exhibit is part of DCP's year-long commitment to women in photography. The juried (and judged) show highlights photos that tell a story, from more than 40 female photographers. Prizes have been awarded to Emily Buckley, Pamela Chipman, and Linda Plaisted for first, second, and third place, respectively. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Leonardo Drew: Number 235T
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, June 17-June 30, 2024
Contemporary sculptor Leonardo Drew uses organic material and techniques of oxidation, burning, and decay to create works like the ones that will grace the first floor galleries at the Carter this month. The intricate, large-scale topography of Number 235T was commissioned specifically for this space, and reflects a connectedness that translates effortlessly from art to life.

Arden Bendler Browning: "Off Screen"
Galleri Urbane, June 24-August 12
Arden Bendler Browning's sense of wanderlust inspired both the subject matter and the method for creating the pieces displayed in this show. Many of the multi-media works began as sketches or watercolors made in a moving vehicle with her husband at the wheel and kids in tow in the back seat. First impressions appeared on yupo paper, which is waterproof, and were then layered with an assortment of acrylic paint, acrylic marker, spray paint, acrylic gouached, and fluid acrylic. Some were then adhered to round panels, symbolizing a portal to the place, time, and atmosphere Bendler Browning envisions. Meet the artist at the opening reception on from 5-8 pm Saturday, June 24.

10th Annual Texas Juried Exhibition
ArtSpace111, June 24-August 26
For this show, Texas artists were invited to enter their two- and three-dimensional works in pursuit of a top prize of $10,000 and a solo show. A portion of the entry fees will be donated to the Tarrant Area Food Bank, and at the end of the exhibition all entries (not just those selected for the show) will be displayed online in the gallery's Texas Now Online Showcase. The exhibition is free to attend, and all art on display is available to purchase. Join the artists for an opening reception from 4-7 pm Saturday, June 24.

"Art of Paper"
Laura Rathe Fine Art Gallery, June 24-August 19
This group exhibition promises "sequenced architectural wall reliefs, encaustic sculptures, biomorphic patterns, repurposed ephemera, and rhythmic compositions" demonstrating that creative options are limitless when the medium is paper. Each of the 15 contemporary artists from around the world elevates paper as art with perspectives that delight and inspire. The show is free and open to the public, with an opening reception from 4:30-7:30 pm Saturday, June 24.

Leonardo Drew Robert Motherwell galleries museums