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CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

AMSET reopens to the public with temporary hours, safety guidelines

(Beaumont, TX; May 29, 2020) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will reopen to the public on Monday, June 1 with safety guidelines and temporary hours in place.

“The Art Museum of Southeast Texas is pleased to announce that it will reopen to the public on Monday, June 1,” Lynn Castle, AMSET’s executive director, said. “Although we welcome the opportunity to serve our audiences again, visitors need to be aware that day-to-day operational procedures have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“AMSET is using guidelines published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and state and local authorities and other museums as benchmarks for establishing its procedures. As we reopen, our public hours will be shortened and visitor capacity will initially be reduced so that we may take the necessary precautions.”

To create a safe environment, AMSET is requiring social distancing, mandatory face masks, and temperature checks by a staff member using a touchless thermometer. Disposable face masks will be provided for visitors who do not have one. Furthermore, AMSET plans to regularly clean surfaces, provide hand-sanitizer stations throughout the museum, offer a low-touch visitor experience, and take additional precautions.

Presently, visitor capacity is reduced to a maximum of 25 percent capacity. Small parties may remain together. Signage will be posted throughout the museum listing capacity limits and guidelines.

Gallery guides and exhibition-related materials are available online. If visitors would like a physical copy, they can inquire at the front desk. Provided materials must be taken with visitors.

As live programming is reintroduced, it will also be captured digitally, enabling audiences the option to live stream events, Castle said.

“AMSET has actively elevated its digital media presence with educational and interpretive programming upon closing in March and this has successfully gained significant traction,” she said. “These postings will continue after the museum reopens. Our goal is to provide an inspirational visual experience with safety as a priority.

 “We cannot wait to open our doors and welcome our visiting public back to AMSET. Visitors are in for a visual treat when they enter the galleries. The experience is food for the soul and nourishment for the creative spirit.”

 Virtual tours, art activity tutorials, and more can be found on AMSET’s YouTube page (youtube.com/amsetx500main).

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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 ktimberlake@amset.org

Registration open for Summer ArtVentures 2020

(Beaumont, TX; May 27, 2020) Join the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) for Summer ArtVentures courses from June 22 through July 17, 2020.

Each Summer ArtVentures camp is offered Monday through Friday with two workshops per day. Morning classes are from 9 a.m. to noon and afternoon classes are 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Campers are divided into three age groups with each course designed with age-appropriate art activities. All courses are taught by artists and art professionals, and the participants work closely with these respected artists in a variety of mediums.

 Young ArtVenturers, children ages 5-7, will sample printmaking and explore the global world of fibers and fabrics through simplified projects formatted for their age group. These classes will be augmented with art-related story times and outdoor activities.

 ArtVenturers, children ages 8-11, will have many courses to choose from including investigating nature-inspired art, learning digital art practices, and forming three-dimensional art using paper mâché and clay.

TeenVentures in Art, for ages 12-14, will allow campers to construct works of art with a retro aesthetic. Teen campers will use a range of media such as epoxy, resin, ink, collage, and a variety of found objects to recreate fashionable works of art.

Summer ArtVentures camps are $75 for AMSET members, $135 for non-members for the first child’s first class, $75 for each additional child, and $70 for each additional class. The non-member fee includes a one-year family membership. Scholarships are available.

Course descriptions and registration forms are available at amset.org/artventures.  Please contact Curator of Education, Christle Feagin at cfeagin@amset.org or call (409) 832-3432 for more information.

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CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

World Peace Flag Ceremony to be held at AMSET on Friday, March 27

(Beaumont, TX; March 10, 2020) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host a World Peace Flag Ceremony led by artist Kana Harada on Friday, March 27 at 5:45 p.m. in the lecture hall. AMSET invites visitors of all ages to take part in this spiritual gathering which aims to spread peace to all the earth.

Works from Harada’s exhibition reflect a peace gathering site called the Fuji Sanctuary at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan, the birthplace of the artist. Harada has been a supporting member of “May Peace Prevail on Earth” for over 36 years and explains that “this spirit is the very essence of my art.” 

 At the site, once every month for over thirty years, thousands of people from all faiths, nationalities, and backgrounds gather outside in rain, snow, storms, wind, or sun and pray for peace and a brighter future for each and every country around the world. 

“I wanted to share the serene yet powerful beauty and joy I always experience visually and spiritually at the site,” Harada said. “Since this spirit of the Fuji Sanctuary is my essence as an artist and a human being, I think it would be a great way for people to get to know me, the artist Kana Harada, my art, and actually participate in what I have been practicing all these years and maybe experience or at least get a little sense of ‘oneness’ with the world. This sense of ‘oneness’ is probably the biggest thing I have learned, enjoyed, and realized over the years through this action of peace.”

AMSET will also unveil its very own Peace Pole, an internationally-recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. The Peace Pole bears the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in different languages on each of its four sides and will be planted on the museum grounds at a later date as a monument and symbol of peace for the community.

 An opening reception for the spring exhibits PATRICK TURK: Higher Planes and KANA HARADA: Celestial Garden will be held afterward from 6:30-8:30p.m.  

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Two unique, vibrant new exhibits to open at AMSET in spring

(Beaumont, TX; February 27, 2020) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will exhibit PATRICK TURK: Higher Planes from March 14 – June 7, 2020 and KANA HARADA: Celestial Garden from March 21 – June 7, 2020 in the main galleries.

On Friday, March 27, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public opening reception, featuring a peace ceremony led by artist Kana Harada at 5:45 p.m., inviting visitors to take part in a spiritual gathering, aiming to spread peace to all the earth. Light appetizers and beverages will be provided complimentary of AMSET.

Patrick Turk’s exhibition will feature an immersive site-specific installation as well as hand-cut paper assemblages which are frequently materially sourced from science-fiction novels, encyclopedias, history, and scientific diagrams. By combining these images with concepts from science fiction such as time travel, sentient planets, and hypothetical biology, he creates kaleidoscopic depictions of religious, mythological, and mystical allegories. Born in Galveston, Texas, Turk lives and works in Houston, Texas. His assemblages have been exhibited at Art Storm, Cris Worley Fine Arts, Lawndale Art Center and Rudolph/Projects/Art Scan as well as galleries in Galveston, Texas and Los Angeles, California. In 2013, he was an Artist in Residence at the Lawndale Art Center.

Dallas-based artist Kana Harada’s exhibition will feature two and three dimensional paintings and sculptures. Harada works with hand-cut foam sheets, along with watercolor, paper, and natural materials to create pieces that embody a wish for peace, a love for humanity, mother earth, and the universe. Celestial Garden will include a site-specific installation, suspended sculptures, and cut paper and watercolor paintings. Harada studied graphic design, Japanese fine art, and drawing at Ochanomizu School of Fine Arts in Tokyo, Japan. Harada is the recipient of the Beth Lea and John L. Clardy Memorial Award at 23rd Annual Exhibition, Art in The Metroplex at Texas Christian University. She has had both national and international solo and group exhibitions and her work is featured in several print and online publications and reviews, including Vitamin D Magazine, Glasstire, Star Telegram, and Houston Press, among others. Her work is included in the collections of the Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas, and the Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas.

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

Both exhibitions are generously funded, in part, by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Beaumont, the Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund and the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation. Funding for PATRICK TURK: Higher Planes provided by, in part, Rob Clark & Jerry Thacker, Architectural Alliance, and Daniels Construction. Funding for KANA HARADA: Celestial Garden provided by, in part, the Edaren Foundation and the

Garth Family Partnership in memory of Mary Jane Garth and Harriet Garth. In addition this exhibition was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America grant.

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Patrick Turk, Dust,  2016, hand-cut paper and mixed media on panel,

35 x 30 x 8 in., Collection of Rob Clark and Jerry Thacker

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Kana Harada, Where We Always Meet, 2017, cut paper on watercolor,

36 x 28 5/8 in., Collection of George Morton & Karol Howard

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CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Walk Like an Egyptian at AMSET’s Go for the Gold fundraiser, March 12th

(Beaumont, TX; February 19, 2020) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host its annual Go for the Gold party and reverse drawing fundraiser on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. at the museum.

 Tickets cost $100 for members and $120 for non-members and admit two people into the party. The additional $20 buys non-members an introductory promotional membership. A number of prizes are given away throughout the evening, including a chance to win $10,000 in gold coins for the first place prize, $1,500 in gold coins for second place prize and $1,000 in gold coins for third place prize. Winners need not be present to win. The gold prizes are given in American Eagle coins and have value that depends on the price of gold and value on the collectors’ market.

One ticket includes dinner for two catered by Two Magnolias and an open bar serving a signature drink.

All proceeds benefit AMSET’s exhibitions and educational programs.

Chaired by Roxanne and Eric Hellberg, this year’s Go for the Gold theme is Walk Like an Egyptian. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed in the fashion of ancient Egypt.

Participants will be entertained by emcees, Roxanne and Eric Hellberg.

Only 450 tickets will be sold to maximize participants’ chance of winning; advance purchase is recommended.  Tickets must be presented at the event to gain admission. To purchase tickets, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

AMSET hosts 34th Annual Protégé High School Art Competition and Exhibition

(Beaumont, TX; January 28, 2020)  Artwork by local high school seniors, selected for the Annual Protégé Competition and Exhibition, will be on view February 27 through March 28, 2020 in the Conn Take pART gallery at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET). Works will then travel to area schools for exhibition and outreach in the community.

Protégé Competition and Exhibition provides local 12th-graders exposure to the art world. AMSET believes it is important for young artists to have an opportunity to experience art competitions and learn how to properly exhibit their artwork. Protégé is offered to senior students in Chambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, and Tyler counties.

This year’s juror is David Cargill. Born in Huntsville, Cargill moved to Beaumont with his family in 1935. Cargill is a historically and regionally important artist that has filled the local area with major large-scale, sacred and secular sculptures that can be seen near the Beaumont Civic Center, at Lamar University, the downtown Public Library, and inside Saint Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church. His sculptures have helped define the public image of Beaumont, containing visual elements that juxtapose both the abstract and objective. He works in a variety of materials including wood, marble, terra cotta, stone, lead and bronze.

Artists, whose works Cargill selects for the Protégé exhibition, will attend an archival framing workshop given by the AMSET curatorial department. Prizes for winners include scholarships to Lamar University's Art Department and gift certificates for art supplies.

AMSET will host the Protégé Reception and Awards Ceremony on February 27, 2020 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Cookies and punch will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, call (409) 832-3432 or visit www.amset.org.

This program is made possible through the generous support of Market Basket Food Stores and the Department of Art of Lamar University through a donation by the Friends of the Arts. Market Basket has been a sponsor since Protégé’s inception. Additional funding is provided by the Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund, and the City of Beaumont.

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Protégé 2019 winners with juror and artist JooYoung Choi

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(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Celebrate Black History Month, Mardi Gras at AMSET’s Family Arts Day

(Beaumont, TX; January 23, 2020) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) presents its winter Free Family Arts Day on Saturday, February 22, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

Art activities are inspired by Black History Month and Mardi Gras as well as AMSET’s current exhibitions, EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy and DAVID MCGEE: Black Paintings. At AMSET’s quarterly Family Arts Days, the hands-on art activities planned will help children and their families explore the artwork on display and use their creativity to make artwork in the same styles as those artists.

Children can decorate Mardi Gras cookies and create Black & White Texture Paintings, Diversity Chains, Mardi Gras Throws, and Peacock Putty.

Complimentary cookies and punch will be provided as well as live entertainment. A concession stand serving ballpark-style food will be available, as well as free face painting. 

Family Arts Days are always free and open to the public. Planned in conjunction with four major exhibitions each year, Family Arts Days combine creative exploration of the exhibit on display, plus hands-on art activities and storytelling for families. All activities are free, and all art materials are provided.                                                                                                                                      

For more information, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

This program is made possible in part by Architectural Alliance, Carla and Josh Allen, Bill Clark Pest Control, Rob Clark & Jerry Thacker, Daniels Construction,

Edaren Foundation, Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Trust, National Endowment for the Arts,

Linda & Dr. Charles Foutz, Lee Ann & Terry Garth, Merrill Lynch, Sheila and Jerry Reese,

Regina Rogers – In loving memory of Julie & Ben Rogers, Diane & Don Shaver, 

Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund,

the Texas Commission on the Arts, the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation, and the City of Beaumont.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Lamar University student finds beauty in the everyday in Café Arts Series

(Beaumont, TX; January 21, 2020) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host THOMAS DURAN:  Obscurity of a Moment, February 6 – April 19, 2020, in AMSET’s Café Arts Series for Local Artists. AMSET will host a free and open to the public artist’s reception on Thursday, February 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in conjunction with its First Thursday.

Duran is a lens-based artist working on his degree in Studio Art with a concentration in Photography at Lamar University. Duran is active within the Department of Art and Design through the organizations he is a part of, the art honor society Kappa Pi, and treasurer of Artists Common. After graduating, Thomas plans on pursuing a graduate degree in photography.

Originally from Houston, Duran credits the architecture and people he interacted with growing up in addition to his college experience for molding his creative process when shooting photos.

“I was born and raised in the suburbs of Houston,” he said. “I never started making art until I got to Lamar. I owe a lot of the way I create to the faculty they have.”

Duran’s photography explores the stark contrast of light and dark with portraiture and showcases his love for architecture and the human form.

“My work is based around harsh lighting,” he said. “Having a bright orange or blue light blast onto a building is just mesmerizing. I want others to see the beauty in the everyday architecture.”

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Safe Haven, digital photograph, 2019, 18 x 24 in., Loan courtesy of the artist    

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CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

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AMSET to host jazzy fundraiser, Valentine Wine & Dine

(Beaumont, TX; January 16, 2020) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host Valentine Wine & Dine, a jazzy wine dinner fundraiser, on Friday, February 14, 2020 at 7 p.m. at the museum.

Chaired by Camille and Chris Ohmstede, the evening is designed to be a casual gathering with a sit-down dinner paired with wine and soft jazz by Jimmy Simmons.

Proceeds from the dinner will go to AMSET's educational programs, which serve between 18,000-23,000 students a year.  

Bubbly and bites will be served at the beginning of the night and will be followed with a gourmet dinner at 7:30 p.m. with special curated wines and sumptuous tabletop sweets to enhance the dining experience. 

Not just for couples, this fun evening is for friends, family, and romantic partners alike.

There will be an auction, as well as a balloon raffle with mystery prizes, giving patrons the opportunity to win a variety of items.  

Tickets are $85 a person, $150 for two people, $1,000 for a reserved table and $2,500 for a premium table (seating limited).

Dress is sport coat casual with a touch of red. 

For more information or to reserve your seat, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Valentine Fundraiser 2019

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CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Houston artist, LU professor to give talk about winter shows at AMSET

(Beaumont, TX; January 14, 2020) Lamar University art professor and artist Prince Varughese Thomas will give a talk about the Art Museum of Southeast Texas’s winter exhibitions, EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy and DAVID MCGEE: Black Paintings, as part of the Taste of the Arts Lecture Series, Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the galleries with a Dutch treat lunch to follow in the Two Magnolias café.

Thomas received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington, and his M.F.A. from the University of Houston. He is currently a professor at Lamar University and is a multidisciplinary artist. He is an Art Prize 7 award recipient in time-based media, and is a Texas Biennial Artist. His work has been included in over 200 solo and group exhibitions at museums, galleries and alternative spaces nationally and internationally, including his most recent exhibition held at AMSET, The Legacy of Narcissus. He is currently represented by Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Houston, Texas. 

EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy transforms the artist’s personal journeys through loss, motherhood, and family tragedy into photographs, film, and sculpture depicting objects and images that exist in a space between the familiar and the absurd. Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Emily Peacock is currently a professor at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville and lives in Houston. By fantastically documenting her own transition into motherhood, Peacock allows others to open up about their own experiences without fear or shame, in an attempt to de-stigmatize these.

DAVID MCGEE: Black Paintings is an exhibition where the ongoing Urban Dread series serves as a visual and symbolic focal point to reconsider paintings spanning twenty six years of the artist’s career. McGee, who was born in Lockhart, Louisiana, and currently resides in Houston, addresses “urban dread” as a conflict between inner cities and suburban angst, depicting abstracted images of ropes, cuffs, crosses, targets, police vehicle coloration, hoods, land separation, hospitals, and weapons. These and other paintings present McGee’s most powerful exhibition-to-date, challenging viewers to consider the neighborhoods they live in and pass through, and how color affects each emotion, memory, and human interaction.

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Lamar University Art Professor Prince Varughese Thomas 

Photo taken by Britt Thomas

Emily Peacock, H.S.A.N.O. 2 (Home Security Apparatuses for Non-desirable Outcomes), 2019, 

archival inkjet print mounted to aluminum, 36 x 24 in., Loan courtesy of the Artist

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David McGee, Ragnar, 2016, oil, wire and glue on canvas, 60 x 48 in., Loan courtesy of the Artist and Texas Gallery, Houston, TX

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AMSET Schedule of 2020 Events

 

 (Beaumont, TX; January 10, 2020)  The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) hosts its changing quarterly exhibitions and educational programs each year in addition to its numerous fundraisers. AMSET has selections from the permanent collection on view year-round in the Lecture Hall and West Hall and spotlights local artists in the Café Arts Series for Local Artists.

 Upcoming events are subject to change with updates noted on the website and social media pages.

Café Arts Series for Local Artists – Jerome Cabeen: Window to the World-The People & The Places - November 21, 2019 – February 2, 2020. The exhibition Window to the World: The People & the Places is a photo journal of Cabeen’s experiences and interactions with people and places all around the globe.

EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy – On view December 14, 2019 - March 1, 2020. EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy transforms the artist’s personal journeys through loss, motherhood, and family tragedy into photographs, film, and sculpture depicting objects and images that exist in a space between the familiar and the absurd. Using safety suits and common objects seen in her home, Peacock presents a series of oval portraits of herself and her husband that feel all at once alien and very familiar to those who have experienced caring for the safety and well-being of another.

DAVID MCGEE: Black Paintings – On view December 14, 2019 - March 1, 2020. DAVID MCGEE: Black Paintings is an exhibition where the ongoing Urban Dread series serves as a visual and symbolic focal point to reconsider paintings spanning twenty six years of the artist’s career. The series depicts black and white 24” x 18” paintings that scroll across the museum walls, their stark black and white minimalism softened and complicated by their surfaces which consist of oil, sand, wax, and mixed medium on burlap.

AMSET Book Club – Tuesday, February 4, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. Our next book club, which is free and open to the public, will be discussing The Gauguin Connection by Estelle Ryan.

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, February 6, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on First Thursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

Café Arts Series for Local Artists – Thomas Duran – February 6 – April 19, 2020. An opening reception will be held February 6^th from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Taste of the Arts Lecture Series – February 12, 2020 @ 11:30 a.m. Lamar University art professor Prince Varughese Thomas will give a talk on the current AMSET exhibits, EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy and DAVID MCGEE: Black Paintings.

Valentine Wine & Dine – Friday, February 14, 2020. A jazzy wine dinner fundraiser for lovers, friends, and family, benefitting AMSET’s art education programs.

Winter Family Arts Day – Saturday – February 22, 2020 @ 10 a.m. A day of family fun with entertainment, face painting, and art activities that will correlate with EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy and DAVID MCGEE: Black Paintings. This event is free and open to the public.

Protégé 34^th Annual High School Art Competition and Exhibition - Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony – 6 p.m., February 27, 2020. This year’s juror is artist David Cargill. The Protégé exhibition will be on view at AMSET in the Conn Gallery, February 27 through March 28, 2020. AMSET believes it is important that young artists have an early opportunity to enter art competitions and to learn professional exhibition protocol. This exhibit travels to other regional venues.

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, March 5, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on First Thursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

Go for the Gold: Walk like an Egyptian – Thursday, March 12, 2020. Tickets are $100 for members & $120 for non-members and include admission, dinner and cocktails for two, along with one entry into the most exciting drawing in town. Three ticket holders get a chance to win prizes in gold. The holder of the last ticket drawn from the hopper will receive $10,000 in gold. Proceeds from Go for the Gold benefit the museum’s exhibitions and educational programming.

PATRICK TURK: Mystic Science and the Search for Intangible Truths – On view March 14 - June 7, 2020. The exhibition will feature an immersive site-specific installation as well as hand-cut paper assemblages which are often materially sourced from science-fiction novels, encyclopedias, history, and scientific diagrams.

KANA HARADA: Celestial Garden – On view March 21 - June 7, 2020. Dallas-based artist Kana Harada works with hand-cut foam sheets, along with watercolor, paper, and natural materials to create pieces that embody a wish for peace, a love for humanity, mother earth, and the universe. Celestial Garden will include a site-specific installation, suspended sculptures, and two-dimensional cut paper and watercolor paintings. A peace ceremony will be held during the opening reception.

Spring Exhibitions Opening Reception – Friday, March 27, 2020 @ 6:30 p.m. Artists Patrick Turk and Kana Harada will be present. Light refreshments will be served complimentary of AMSET.

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, April 2, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on First Thursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

Café Arts Series for Local Artists – Tina Novelli – April 23 – June 21, 2020

Spring Family Arts Day – May 2, 2020. This FREE day of family fun will give children and their families an opportunity to participate in several hands-on art activities that correlate with AMSET’s current exhibitions, PATRICK TURK: Mystic Science and the Search for Intangible Truth and KANA HARADA: Celestial Garden. Entertainment, face painting, and refreshments will be provided.

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, May 7, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on First Thursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

Treasure Auction – Thursday, May 7, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m.

Summer ArtVentures Creative Kids Camp – June 15 – July 24, 2020.  At AMSET’s popular summer camp, children ages 5-14 can participate in intensive art education classes taught by professional artists. Campers are divided into three age groups for week-long classes. For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, June 4, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on FirstThursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

Selections from the Tyler Museum of Art and the Permanent Collection of AMSET– On view June 20 – September 6, 2020

Café Arts Series for Local Artists – June 25 – August 30, 2020

Summer Exhibition Opening Reception – 6:30 p.m., Friday, June 26, 2020. Light refreshments will be served complimentary of AMSET.

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, August 6, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on First Thursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

Summer Family Arts Day – 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Saturday, August 15, 2020.  This free event will have entertainment, face painting, refreshments, and unique art activities inspired by Selections from the Tyler Museum of Art and the Permanent Collection of AMSET.

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, September 3, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on First Thursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

Café Arts Series for Local Artists – September 3 – November 15, 2020

Anniversary Gala 2020 – Saturday, September 18, 2020 @ 6:30 p.m.  AMSET’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the anniversary gala includes live entertainment, dancing, fine dining, live/silent auctions, and more. All proceeds benefit the museum’s exhibitions and education programming.

Fall Exhibitions - On view October 3 – December 6, 2020

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, October 1, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on First Thursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

Fall Exhibitions Opening Reception – Friday, October 9, 2020

The Monster Mash: AMSET Bash – Friday, October 23, 2020 @ 7-11 p.m. This costume party will once again transform the art museum into a haunted house with live entertainment, treats, and seasonal brews. All proceeds benefit the museum’s exhibitions and education programming.

“Eat a Bug!” Family Arts Day – Saturday, October 31, 2020 @ 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. “Eat a Bug!” Family Arts Day is one of AMSET’s most popular events, where children and their families are tempted to eat fried crickets. Hands-on art activities focus on the many cultures of our region and the main gallery exhibitions. Visitors will learn about the current exhibits on view through hands-on art activities as well as Day of the Dead and Latin American crafts such as decorated sugar skulls. Entertainment includes Latin American music and dancing. Children are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes. The event is free and open to the public.

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, November 5, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on First Thursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

First Thursdays at AMSET – Thursday, December 3, 2020 @ 5:30 p.m. The museum stays open later on First Thursdays, featuring live jazz, light snacks, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view and buy artwork from local artists showcasing their work in AMSET’s First Thursday Pop-Ups.

Holiday Tree Lighting – Thursday, December 3, 2020 @ 4-6 p.m.  AMSET and area museums, attractions and local businesses will host the annual Holiday Tree Lighting. Families and children are invited to participate in art activities, pictures with Santa, mailing letters to the North Pole, and the lighting of the tree at 6 p.m. sharp.

Gingerbread House Workshop – Saturday, December 5, 2020 @ 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.  Families and friends combine architectural design and pastry skills in this annual sugary workshop at AMSET. Just in time for the Christmas holidays, this sweet day of family fun allows participants to create an edible gingerbread house masterpiece.

 Winter Exhibitions - On view December 19, 2020 – February 28, 2021

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Two exhibits, Pure Comedy & Black Paintings, to open at AMSET, Dec. 14th

(Beaumont, TX; November 15, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will exhibit EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy and DAVID MCGEE: Black Paintings from December 14, 2019 – March 1, 2020 in the main galleries. On Friday, December 13, 2019, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public opening reception featuring a gallery talk by artists Emily Peacock and David McGee. Light appetizers and beverages will be provided complimentary of AMSET.

Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Emily Peacock is currently a professor at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville and lives in Houston. EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy transforms the artist’s personal journeys through loss, motherhood, and family tragedy into photographs, film, and sculpture depicting objects and images that exist in a space between the familiar and the absurd. Using safety suits and common objects seen in her home, Peacock presents a series of oval portraits of herself and her husband that feel all at once alien and very familiar to those who have experienced caring for the safety and well-being of another. This series, titled H.S.A.N.O. (Home Security Apparatuses for Non-desirable Outcomes), also brings postpartum depression to the forefront, a public health issue that affects 10 to 15 percent of mothers. By fantastically documenting her own transition into motherhood, Peacock allows others to open up about their own experiences without fear or shame, in an attempt to de-stigmatize disorders such as this.

DAVID MCGEE: Black Paintings is an exhibition where the ongoing Urban Dread series serves as a visual and symbolic focal point to reconsider paintings spanning twenty six years of the artist’s career. The series depicts black and white 24” x 18” paintings that scroll across the museum walls, their stark black and white minimalism softened and complicated by their surfaces which consist of oil, sand, wax, and mixed medium on burlap. McGee, who was born in Lockhart, Louisiana and currently resides in Houston, addresses “urban dread” as a conflict between inner cities and suburban angst, depicting abstracted images of ropes, cuffs, crosses, targets, police vehicle coloration, hoods, land separation, hospitals, and weapons. These and other paintings present McGee’s most powerful exhibition-to-date, challenging viewers to consider the neighborhoods they live in and pass through, and how color affects each emotion, memory, and human interaction.

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

Both exhibitions are generously funded, in part, by an award from the Edaren Foundation, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Beaumont, the Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund and the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation. Funding for EMILY PEACOCK: Pure Comedy provided by Sheila and Jerry Reese.

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Emily Peacock, H.S.A.N.O. 2 (Home Security Apparatuses for Non-desirable Outcomes), 2019, 

archival inkjet print mounted to aluminum, 36 x 24 in., Loan courtesy of the Artist

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David McGee, Ragnar, 2016, oil, wire and glue on canvas, 60 x 48 in., Loan courtesy of the Artist and Texas Gallery, Houston, TX

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: KARA TIMBERLAKE, PR COORDINATOR

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Downtown Museum District hosts free, annual Holiday Tree Lighting Party

(Beaumont, TX; November 7, 2019) Bring in the holiday season with the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) and other area museums, attractions, and local businesses at the annual children’s Holiday Tree Lighting, 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, December 5. Santa Claus will light the tree promptly at 6 p.m. on the grounds of AMSET at 500 Main Street.

Children and their families will make ornaments for their trees at home and the downtown tree, take pictures with Santa Claus, send letters to the North Pole, enjoy holiday music, and much more. Decorate a cookie with the Beaumont Convention & Visitors Bureau (BCVB) and sip on hot apple cider provided by the Fire Museum of Texas. Activities and giveaways are provided by area museums and businesses.

Participating organizations include the AMSET, Art Studio, Inc., Beaumont Children’s Museum, BCVB, Beaumont Main Street, Dishman Art Museum, Downtown Beaumont Cultural Arts District, Edison Museum, Fire Museum of Texas, McFaddin-Ward House, Port of Beaumont, Southeast Texas Arts Council, Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, Texas Energy Museum, and Tyrell Historical Library. This event is sponsored by Mobiloil Federal Credit Union, Flint Hills Resources, and the City of Beaumont.                                                                          

This event is free and open to the public. Free parking is available across the street at the Civic Center. For more information, call (409) 832-3432 or visit www.amset.org.

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

AMSET receives funding to expand education classroom

(Beaumont, TX; November 4, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) was awarded $400,000 from the C. Homer and Edith Chambers Charitable Foundation to expand the AMSET education classroom, essentially doubling its size by adding 778 square feet.

 “We are so grateful to the Hancock Whitney Trust Department who worked with the museum board members to facilitate this generous gift from the Chambers Foundation,” Lynn Castle, AMSET executive director, said. “This expansion will allow us to better serve our ever-growing art education audience.”

An initial site evaluation was conducted by Samuel Anderson, an architect who specializes in museum space management and has consulted with numerous major museums throughout the United States. Anderson is also an adjunct professor at Cooper Union and is highly respected in the museum field for museum space management. In his evaluation of AMSET, the education classroom expansion was strongly recommended to accommodate its ever-growing art education audience. The classroom expansion will enable AMSET to accommodate more students and classes, doubling the access to its 13 education programs.       

Spring boarding off of Anderson’s recommendation, a more comprehensive architectural plan, specifically of the proposed classroom expansion, was prepared by Rob Clark and his team at Architectural Alliance in Beaumont. Clark is familiar with AMSET and its programming needs, having served as the AMSET Board President. Recently, Clark worked with the Stark Museum of Art on various department renovations and expansion projects.

For more information, call (409) 832-3432 or visit www.amset.org.

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AMSET Classroom Expansion

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Global travels give local artist new lens to view humanity in Café Arts Series

(Beaumont, TX; October 24, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host JEROME CABEEN:  Window to the World – The People & The Places November 21, 2019 – February 2, 2020 in AMSET’s Café Arts Series for Local Artists. On Sunday, December 8, 1-3 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public artist’s reception.

Cabeen graduated from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas with a Bachelors of Fine Art in 1990. He taught art at the high school, middle school and elementary school levels in Houston, while painting and drawing on the side. In 2004, Cabeen begin an international journey that would lead to his immersion into photography. From 2004 through 2010, he lived in Honduras, Central America and Liberia, Africa, teaching art and directing Catholic missions. His experiences in these countries, as well as the 30 others that he has visited, gave him a new window in which to see the common thread that connects us all – our humanity.      

The exhibition Window to the World – The People & The Places is a photo journal of his experiences and interactions with people and places from around the globe, Cabeen said.

“We all tell stories with our lives, whether we realize it or not,” he said. “That in itself is art. When I stepped foot onto the beautiful soil of Honduras for the first time in September of 2004, my story changed, for the better. I truly believe that the human spirit yearns for wholeness; it thirsts for the sacred knowledge that can only come by the uncomfortable expedition of the heart.”

Cabeen said he never imagined the impact that his travels would have on him.

 “Now I cannot imagine what my life would be if I had not made these, at times, reluctant journeys,” he said. “For in them, after all of the fears and trepidation subsided, what I found is when I embraced another person, looked into their eyes, what I saw was me. Window to the World – The People & The Places is a tribute and celebration of all those that blessed my path with their love, kindness and humanity.”

For more information, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Jerome Cabeen, Broken and Beautiful, The Many Faces of the Buddha, Siem Reap, Cambodia,

2018, digital photograph on canvas, 24 x 24 in.

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

LU art professor to give talk on fall exhibit, The Legacy of Narcissus

(Beaumont, TX; October 9, 2019) Lamar University art history assistant professor, Julia C. Fischer, will give a talk on Prince Varughese Thomas: The Legacy of Narcissus at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas’s fall Taste of the Arts Lecture Series, Friday, November 8 at 12:30 p.m. The talk is free and open to the public. A buffet-style lunch for $14.02 (includes tax) per person will be served following the lecture. All are welcome to join us as we continue the conversation in the AMSET library.  

Fischer is an assistant professor of art history at Lamar University, where she teaches courses in ancient, Asian, and Renaissance art along with a specialized class in art crime. She received a BA Classics in art history from Loyola University Chicago, an MA in classical archaeology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a PhD in art history from The Ohio State University. Fischer’s primary research focuses on the iconography, reception, and propaganda of Roman Imperial cameos. Her other areas of interest include issues of cultural heritage, Roman topography, the minor arts of antiquity, travel photography in 19th century Japan, and anything Italian. She is the author of two books and the editor of two books. In 2016, Fischer was named Lamar University's Distinguished Faculty Lecturer.                                        

Prince Varughese Thomas: The Legacy of Narcissus will be on view until December 1, 2019 in the main galleries. This exhibition features works by Prince Varughese Thomas, a multidisciplinary artist who is part of what has come to be known as the Indian Diaspora. Thomas is Indian by birth, naturalized in the US, and raised primarily between India and the United States. His work reflects his sense of the world growing up outside of the dominant culture in which he exists. Thomas’s immersive multimedia exhibition fills the entire gallery space of the museum including brand new works of photography, video, drawings, and three-dimensional installations. The Legacy of Narcissus explores the intersection of Social Media, Art, and Politics that speak about our collective Narcissism as a culture.                                         

For more information, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

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Lamar University Art History Assistant Professor, Julia C. Fischer

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Prince Varughese Thomas, Portrait of Lilly Singh, from Masters of the Universe, 2019, pigment print on photo rag paper, 20 x 20 in.,

Loan Courtesy of the Artist and Hooks-Epstein Galleries

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Eat a Bug at AMSET’s Free Family Arts Day!

(Beaumont, TX; October 3, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) presents its popular “Eat a Bug!” Free Family Arts Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, October 26, 2019. Families are invited to celebrate Halloween and Day of the Dead by decorating sugar skulls and enjoying a variety of exciting art activities. The Mexican Heritage Society will also perform traditional Mexican Folk Dancing.

Children and their families will get to participate in art activities including #AMSETSELFIEs, cookie decorating, social media collages, Halloween masks, leaf rubbing, and sugar skulls.

Activities are inspired by AMSET’s current exhibition, PRINCE VARUGHESE THOMAS: The Legacy of Narcissus, which is on view through December 1 in the main galleries.

Families will be tempted to “eat a bug” and enjoy folk dancing by the Mexican Heritage Society, performing at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.  The costume contest kicks off at 11:30 a.m. Children are encouraged to come dressed in their best costumes for a chance to win prizes. Complimentary cookies and punch will be provided. A concession stand serving ballpark-style food will be available, as well as free face-painting.  Throughout the day, AMSET will draw winners for baskets of art supplies.

Admission to this event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

This program is made possible in part by American Valve and Hydrant, Bill Clark Pest Control, UBS – The Ohmstede Financial Group, Linda & Dr. Charles Foutz, Goodyear Beaumont Chemical, Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Trust, Regina Rogers – In loving memory of Julie & Ben Rogers, Sam’s Club, the City of Beaumont, the Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation.

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