TUCSON, ARIZONA (June 20, 2018) – The Tucson Museum of Art’s (TMA) 95^th Anniversary begins October 2018 and runs through September 2019. TMA’s 95^th season features three major exhibitions; 30 Americans: The Rubell Family Collection, the metaphorical works of Cuban-born artist Carlos Estévez, and Travelogue: Grand Destinations and Personal Journeys. The museum will also offer three select exhibitions; the environmental photography of Tucson-based artist Patricia Carr Morgan, the silkscreen prints of Josef Albers, and works by New Mexico artist Harold Joe Waldrum.  TMA will also feature highlights from its permanent collection in areas including American Art, Art of the American West, Asian Art, Contemporary Art, European Art, Folk Art of the Americas, Latin American Art, and Modern Art in its galleries.

According to Tucson Museum of Art Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Mikolajczak, “Opening TMA’s 95^th anniversary is 30 Americans: The Rubell Family Collection.  30 Americans showcases works by many of the most important African American artists of the last three decades: Nick Cave, Mark Bradford, Kehinde Wiley, Mickalene Thomas, and James Marshall, among others.  It’s a provocative survey that focuses on issues of racial, sexual and historical identity in contemporary culture that we hope will resonate with visitors.” Mikolajczak said that TMA is working with a community advisory committee and partnering with schools and local groups to develop community-based dialogues to complement 30 Americans, and in conjunction with its 95th Anniversary, aims to achieve three strategic goals that will help shape the future of the institution:

• Serve as a leader in representing regional identity, supporting the advancement of arts and culture, and preserving the heritage of the American Southwest.
• Reflect the diverse demographic and culture of our region, and the global society, through our collections, exhibitions, and programs.
• Preserve, exhibit, and interpret the arts, fostering awareness, appreciation, exploration, and understanding of culturally rich collections and innovative exhibitions.

The 95^th Anniversary puts a spotlight on TMA’s deep roots in community history and visual art. The Tucson Museum of Art began in 1924, when the Tucson Women’s Club formed the Tucson Fine Arts Association.  By the mid-1960s the growing arts organization had outgrown the Kingan House, and plans were made to acquire a long-term lease from the City of Tucson for a new location.  In 1975, the organization moved to its present location on the site of Tucson’s Presidio, officially became a collecting institution and changed its name to the Tucson Museum of Art.

TMA also stewards five historic properties – La Casa Cordova, the Leonardo Romero House, Edward Nye Fish House, Hiram S. Stevens/Milton B. Duffield House and the J. Knox Corbett House – which are open to the public.

Over the years, nonprofit TMA restored and stabilized these historic properties, constructed the Plaza of the Pioneers, increased gallery and exhibition space and collection storage, and created the Education Center and Research Library. In the spring 2019, TMA plans a groundbreaking for the new 6,000-square-foot Kasser Family Wing, thanks to the largest individual donor gift in TMA’s history from Tucson business leader I. Michael Kasser and wife Beth.

TMA is recognized as Southern Arizona’s premier presenter of fine art and art education programs. The 74,000-square-foot Museum features permanent and traveling exhibitions of Modern and Contemporary, Native American, American West, Latin American, and Asian art and maintains a permanent collection of more than 7,000 objects. Nearly 200,000 people visit TMA annually and there are more than 2,500 members and affiliate support group members.

For more information, please visit TucsonMuseumofArt.org or call (520) 624-2333.  Follow the latest events on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. TMA is a private 501(c)(3) charitable arts and education organization.

###

Exhibition Schedule

30 Americans: The Rubell Family Collection October 6, 2018 – January 13, 2019; 30 Americans showcases works by many of the most important African American artists of the last three decades.

Carlos Estévez: Entelechy January 26 – May 5, 2019; The art of Cuban-born artist Carlos Estévez reveals a consistent interest in the potential for visualization to examine the link between human spirituality and the infinity of human experience.

Blue Tears: Installation by Patricia Carr Morgan January 26 – April 21, 2019; Tucson-based artist Morgan’s installation expresses the inspiring, elegant, unaltered photographs digitally captured in Antarctica and Greenland with a performative aspect that reinforces the fragility of these regions.

Learning to See: Josef Albers Selected Prints from the Formulation: Articulation series May 5 – July 7, 2019; Josef Albers was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and considered an essential figure of Bauhaus movement, which focused on the modern integration of architecture, fine art, and craft.

Travelogue: Grand Destinations and Personal Journeys May 18 – September 29, 2019; This exhibition focuses on varying eras and genres from the Tucson Museum of Art’s permanent collection that identifies specific landmarks as if created by travelers who encounter them with a new sense of discovery.

Harold Joe Waldrum: Las Sombras July 14 – September 29, 2019; First settling in New Mexico in the 1970’s, Waldrum created color-saturated paintings of abstract architectural forms based on the regional adobe churches.

Selections from the Permanent Collection Ongoing; Works from the museum’s Modern and Contemporary, Native American, American West, Latin American, pre-Columbian, European, and Asian art collections appear in 15 of the museum’s galleries.

About the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block
The Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block’s mission is Connecting Art to Life. The museum was founded in 1924 in the El Presidio Historic District of downtown Tucson. It is Southern Arizona’s premier presenter of fine art and art education programs.

The museum features permanent and traveling exhibitions of Modern and Contemporary, Native American, American West, Latin American, pre-Columbian, European, and Asian art. The 74,000 square foot museum offers guided tours, and education programs. The museum’s historic block of 19^th and 20^th C. adobe and Mission Revival-style buildings, encompassing a four-acre city block, includes the John K. Goodman Pavilion, the highly acclaimed museum restaurant Café a la C’Art, the Museum Store, and additional exhibition spaces.

TMA is a private 501(c)(3) charitable arts and education organization.