The Blanton Museum of Art is the primary art collection for the vibrant city of Austin and one of the most innovative university art museums in the country. With a collection of more than 18,000 works of art, the museum serves as a pillar for campus and the community by offering world-class art experiences that are thought-provoking, visually arresting, and personally moving.
A gift to the Blanton during 40 for Forty will help make each museum visitor feel surprised, curious, inspired, and eager to return. At the Blanton there is always something new to discover!
We are proud to serve as an educational and inspiring resource on the Forty Acres. Thank you for furthering our mission during 40 for Forty.
About the Blanton:
From the recent opening of Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin to a wide range of diverse, high quality exhibitions and leading educational programs, it is an exciting time in the Blanton’s history. The museum aims for national distinction and excellence in everything we do to engage the many audiences we serve.
Major exhibitions to look forward to in 2019-2020 cover an impressive span, from dynamic contemporary artists such as Jeffrey Gibson, Lily Cox-Richard, and Ed Ruscha to Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, Wonders, a special exhibition that will bring European medieval art to Blanton audiences, an area not well-represented at any art institution in Texas. This year the Blanton also has organized an exhibition of 1920s art from Argentina, Mexico, and Peru that is touring across the globe—including stops at major museums in Madrid, Lima, Peru; and Mexico City. The Blanton’s public programs add another layer to the visitor experience and include curator-led tours, panels featuring visiting scholars and artists, film screenings, music and dance performances, and more.
As the principal art museum for Austin, the Blanton’s educational mission is essential to its role as a pillar for the community—its K-12 programming is part of what makes the Blanton distinctive. The museum is proud to continue its long history of working collaboratively with Central Texas schools and teachers to innovatively respond to the changing needs and demographics of the communities it serves. In 2019-2020, the museum aims to further develop programs that empower both teachers and students with resources related to area school district priorities such as social and emotional learning (SEL), dual language education, literacy, cultural proficiency, and more.
Spotlight On Campus:
The Blanton is considered a leader and model among university art museums, recognized for forging deep cross-campus relationships and meaningful university engagement. This includes wide-ranging efforts to engage faculty and students from across disciplines with the collection and exhibitions, as well as the museum’s highly-regarded internship and fellowship programs that provide hands-on professional training. The museum works with every school and college at UT and total annual attendance for UT students averages 20,000 people.
The education team works closely with faculty to develop curriculum-based experiences for students that make connections between what they are learning in class and works of art, helping students to build visual literacy, close-looking, and other skills relevant to their academic development. The Blanton’s engagement on campus is interdisciplinary and customized, ranging from partnering with UT’s Dell Medical School to support physicians-in-training to collaborating the Women in Engineering Program, a program run by the Cockrell School of Engineering, to advance gender equity in the field, the museum remains committed to its core role as a teaching museum. Learn more about the Blanton’s inspiring partnerships on campus here.