The Erie Art Museum to Participate in Blue Star Museums

May 20, 2017, Erie, Pennsylvania – The Erie Art Museum is one of more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the Department of Defense.

Today the Erie Art Museum announced their participation in the seventh year of Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to the nation's active duty military personnel including National Guard and Reserve and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2017. The Erie Art Museum has been a participant every year since Blue Star Museums launched in 2010.

The complete list of participating museums is available at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

“The Blue Star Museums program is a fun, free activity for military families to enjoy during the summer months,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “The program is also a great way for service member families to connect to their new communities, and it can provide a meaningful way for families to reconnect after deployment. The Blue Star Museums program is also a perfect way for the arts community to say 'thank you' to our service members and their families for the sacrifices they make on our behalf, every day.”

This year, more than 2,000 museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa are taking part in the initiative. Museums are welcome to join Blue Star Museums throughout the summer. The effort to recruit museums has involved partnerships with the American Alliance of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Association of Children's Museums, the American Association of State and Local History, and the Association of Science-Technology Centers.

About the Erie Art Museum

The Erie Art Museum anchors downtown Erie's cultural and economic revitalization, occupying a group of restored mid-19th century commercial buildings tied together by a modern, 'green,' 10,500 square foot expansion. The new facility was the first LEED Gold certified building in Northwest Pennsylvania.

The Museum maintains an ambitious program of changing exhibitions annually, embracing a wide range of subjects, both historical and contemporary and including folk art, contemporary craft, multi-disciplinary installations, community-based work, as well as traditional media. The Erie Art Museum also holds a collection of over 8,000 objects, which includes significant works in American ceramics, Tibetan painting, Indian bronzes, contemporary baskets, and a variety of other categories.

The Museum offers a wide range of education programs and artists' services including interdisciplinary and interactive school tours and a wide variety of classes for the community. Performing arts are showcased in the popular summer program, Mid Day Art Break, which presents a wide range of regional performers, and the popular annual two-day Erie Art Museum Blues & Jazz Festival, which presents outstanding national and international artists. The Erie Art Museum and gift shop is open Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Winter hours for the Museum's Wave Café are 10 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. For additional visitor information, visit online at www.erieartmuseum.org or call 814-459-5477.