On Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University, will participate in Smithsonian magazine’s 6th annual Museum Day, and open its doors free of charge to all visitors who present a Museum Day ticket, available at www.smithsonian.com. Various museums and cultural institutions nationwide will participate in the event, presented by Toyota on behalf of the redesigned 2011 Avalon.
Museum Day, celebrating the world’s many cultures and all that museums have to offer, gives participating venues the chance to emulate the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C.-based facilities.
The 2010 Museum Day is poised to be the largest and most successful to date, outdoing the 2009 record-breaking event, in which over 300,000 museum-goers and 1,300 venues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico participated. In 2009, 2 million visitors logged on to www.smithsonian.com/museumday to learn more about the program.
“It’s wonderful that Smithsonian magazine and Toyota are encouraging people across the country to visit their local museums and cultural institutions,” said Irvin Lippman, executive director of the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale. “I’m very pleased that the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale is part of this nationwide event.”
The Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale has become one of South Florida’s leading cultural attractions; since 2003, it has broken all South Florida museum records by hosting more than 1 million visitors. The Museum’s collection of more than 6,000 works is international in scope, while strongly reflecting the creative expression of the cultures of South Florida and the Caribbean. The collection includes significant works by the American artist William Glackens, by the artists of the northern European CoBrA movement, and by contemporary Cuban artists. It is the mission of the Museum to explore the broadest spectrum of visual culture at the highest level of quality.
This year, Toyota will enhance the Museum Day experience both in Smithsonian magazine and online with elements such as the “Featured Five,” a listing that encourages visitors to learn about and visit participating museums and venues. Additionally, for each visitor who inquires about the new Toyota Avalon online, Toyota will donate $1 – up to $10,000 total – to museum programming nationwide.
The Museum Day ticket is available to download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission for two people to participating museums and cultural venues. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. Listings and links to participating museums’ and sponsors’ sites can be found at www.smithsonian.com/museumday.