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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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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For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

AMSET to host Boos & Brews, 4^th Annual Monster Mash, Oct. 18th

(Beaumont, TX; September 23, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host Boos and Brews, its 4th Monster Mash, Friday, October 18, 2019, 8 – 11 p.m. at AMSET located at 500 Main Street, Beaumont, TX 77701.

Chaired by Lisa and Brent Coon, this event is for ages 21 and up. Seasonal craft beers provided by Del Papa & Giglio Distributing, wine, and spirits will be available as well as treats by Two Magnolias.

The event will include live musical entertainment by Still Cruisin’, face-painting, a silent auction and raffle, a fortune teller, and a photo booth.

There will be a costume contest at 9:30 p.m. with first, second and third place prizes.

Pre-sale tickets are $35 and $40 at the door. Tickets can be purchased by visiting amset.org, contacting your favorite AMSET board member, or by calling 409-832-3432. Advance reservations are recommended.

Proceeds benefit AMSET’s exhibitions and educational programs.

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

Through unique collections, exhibitions, public programs and outreach in the visual arts, the mission of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas is to provide education, inspiration and creative vision throughout Southeast Texas.

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Boos & Brews 2018

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

AMSET is ‘Dancing on the Water’ to celebrate 32 years

(Beaumont, TX; August 27, 2019) Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host its 32nd Anniversary Gala: Dancing on the Water, Saturday, September 28, 2019, 7:30 – 11 p.m. at the Event Centre. AMSET invites the community to celebrate 32 years of education, inspiration, and creative vision.

Cocktail hour begins at 7:30 p.m. Fine dining by Bando’s Catering will be served at 8 p.m. Silent and live auctions will feature enticing items and packages such as a beach cabin retreat and a pre-symphony dinner. There will be a live performance by The Flava Band. Attendees are encouraged to wear shimmering attire.

The Gala will feature honorary gala chair John Alexander and recognize our gala honorees, internationally recognized artists, James Surls & Charmaine Locke, and the extraordinary museum patron Albert E. Nolen.

A powerhouse gala committee of Judy Black, Sandra Clark, Sandra Fertitta, Kathé Hendricks, Aggie In, Janey Phelan, and Kim Steinhagen make this anniversary event possible. Led by emcee Roy Steinhagen and auctioneer Gary Moncla, a talented auction committee of Nikki Albanese, Karen Babineaux, Lisa Coon, Gerald Farha, and Candice Walters will be sure to delight party goers with creative live and silent auction packages. 

Individual seats are $250. Table reservations range from $2,500 to $15,000. A $15,000 table can seat up to 10 guests. Top table packages include premium seating, pre-party champagne at AMSET, and an original Dancing on the Water print created by Charmaine Locke and James Surls.

All proceeds benefit AMSET exhibitions and educational programs.  For more information or to make a reservation, 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

The Legacy of Narcissus explores intersection of social media, art and politics

(Beaumont, TX; August 15, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will exhibit Prince Varughese Thomas: The Legacy of Narcissus, from September 21 through December 1, 2019 in the main galleries.

On Friday, September 20, 2019, 6-8 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public opening reception where the artist will be present. Light appetizers and beverages will be provided complimentary of AMSET.

This exhibition will feature 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 will fill 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.

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. 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. His most recent exhibitions include a solo exhibition of charcoal drawing at Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Houston, a multimedia exhibition at the Asia Society Texas Center, and video at the CICA Museum in South Korea. He is currently represented by Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Houston, Texas. 

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

This exhibition is generously funded, in part, by Kathé and Jim Hendricks, Kim and Roy Steinhagen, 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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Prince Varughese Thomas, Logan Paul, from the series Masters of the Universe, 2019, Pigment Print on Velvet Paper, 20 x 20 inches, 

Image courtesy of the Artist & Hooks-Epstein Galleries

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Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Beaumont artist finds inspiration from daily life in Café Arts Series

(Beaumont, TX; August 7, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host CRAIG ODLE: Experiments and Evolution August 29 – November 17, 2019 in AMSET’s Café Arts Series for Local Artists. On Sunday, September 15, 2-4 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public artist’s reception.

Born in Houston in 1987, Odle grew up in Beaumont, where he now resides. A pop-surrealist/lowbrow painter, Odle finds inspiration in day-to-day life. The concepts he uses in his paintings come to him from conversations, music, movies, dreams and at times just odd thoughts. The titles for his pieces generally speak to whatever idea that was used in the conception of the piece. Sometimes, his artwork has a deep or dark meaning while other times the piece may insinuate a riddle or a pun.  Most of his work is done on canvas using acrylic paint.

Odle believes that his life experiences have shaped the way he views and creates art.

“If we look at life and the world all around us, we can see evolution firsthand,” he said. “I believe that my experience and progression with my passion to create is no different. I had an experience around four years ago that changed my outlook on art and what it would take to move forward with my craft, and since then I have, one day at a time, moved further away from my comfort zone.”

A mixture of experimentation and evolution, as evidenced by the series’ title, has influenced Odle’s work.

“Over time I have begun to believe that my art is a living thing – when it is pushed and nourished it evolves like every other living being in the universe,” he said. “These pieces showcase many of the experiments that took place to help my painting practice grow into what it is currently. Only time, and the evolution that takes place during that time, will tell as to what the future holds for me and the canvases that cross my path.”        

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

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Craig Odle, I Don't Want No Water Ma!, 2019, mixed media on canvas, 16 x 20 inches 

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 ktimberlake@amset.org

LU art professor to give talk on summer exhibit, Gulf Coast Lore & Lure

(Beaumont, TX; July 30, 2019) Lamar University art history assistant professor, Stephanie Chadwick, will give a talk on Gulf Coast Lore & Lure: Selections from the Permanent Collection at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas’s summer Taste of the Arts Lecture Series, Friday, August 30 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.  

Chadwick is an assistant professor of art history with the art department at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, where she teaches classes in Art Appreciation, Modern and Contemporary Art, the History of Photography, and Global Perspectives. Her research interests include modern European art and theory; relationships between art, literature, and colonialism; and art as multicultural exchange. She served as a teaching assistant and earned her PhD at Rice University in 2015 with the dissertation Disorienting Forms: Jean Dubuffet, Portraiture, Ethnography. Her research has been supported by a number of significant grants and has resulted in publications and presentations on Jean Dubuffet and other modern and contemporary artists. She is writing a book titled Jean Dubuffet, Bricoleur: Portraits, Pastiche, Performativity, contributes essays to the educational art history website Smarthistory, and has served on the Board of Directors at the Art Studio and the Acquisitions Committee of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas.

Gulf Coast Lore & Lure: Selections from the Permanent Collection will be on view until September 1, 2019 in the main galleries. Works in this exhibition relate to the rich wonders of the Gulf Coast, whether through imagery or storytelling. Modern and contemporary works by artists such as John Alexander, Derek Boshier, Keith Carter, Dixie Friend Gay, Melissa Miller, Richard Stout, and many more, are on view, as well as a dynamic selection of regional folk art works.

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

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Lamar University Professor Stephanie Chadwick

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David H. Gibson, Lotus Stems and Cloud Reflections, Texas Gulf Coast, gelatin silver print, selenium toned,

16 3/4 x 23 1/6 inches, 2005, museum purchase, PC 2013.01.05

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Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Join AMSET for a back-to-school beachy Family Arts Day, Aug.10

(Beaumont, TX; July 11, 2019) As back-to-school quickly approaches, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) invites children and their families to finish their summer with an artistic flair and join in AMSET’s summer Free Family Arts Day on Saturday, August 10, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Children and their families are encouraged to explore the museum and learn about the artwork currently on display. Art activities are inspired by AMSET’s current exhibition, Gulf Coast Lore & Lure: Selections from the Permanent Collection. Children and their families will create their own innovative artwork such as stacked animals inspired by the sculptures of David Everett, fish prints, sand drawings, seashell necklaces, mermaid tails, and woven seascapes.

Throughout the day, AMSET will draw winners for backpacks full of school supplies for the new school year. Rounding out the fun will be live demonstrations by Gator Country and their reptilian friends.

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

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 Carla and Josh Allen, American Valve and Hydrant, Bill Clark Pest Control, Sandra Clark, Goodyear Beaumont Chemical, Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Stanley K. Price, Regina Rogers – In loving memory of Julie & Ben Rogers, 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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Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

AMSET to host The Art of Flowers as part of First Thursday, Aug. 1

(Beaumont, TX; July 3, 2019) To kick off its August First Thursday, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will partner with The Music Studio and Blumen Farms to host The Art of Flowers, a one-night only exhibition consisting of floral arrangements from local florists inspired by artwork created by Southeast Texas artists. The event will take place Thursday, August 1, 2019, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the museum’s café and foyer.

Joining in on the First Thursday fun downtown, AMSET will offer wine and beer for purchase as well as light refreshments. Admission is free and open to the public.

In addition to The Art of Flowers, attendees will have the opportunity to view AMSET’s summer exhibition, Gulf Coast Lore & Lure: Selections from the Permanent Collection, in the main galleries. Jennifer G. Thompson: un peu de tout will also be on view in the Café Art Series for Local Artists.

“As part of our Downtown Beaumont Cultural Arts District (DBCAD), the Art Museum of Southeast Texas hopes to join First Thursdays and keep it as a monthly event to raise cultural awareness in our area,” Lynn Castle, AMSET executive director, said.

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

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Contact: Kara Timberlake, PR coordinator

(409) 832-3432

 ktimberlake@amset.org

Artist explores American culture in Café Arts Series

(Beaumont, TX; June 14, 2019) The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host Jennifer Thompson: un peu de tout June 27 – August 25, 2019 in AMSET’s Café Arts Series for Local Artists. On Saturday, July 13, 2-4 p.m., AMSET will host a free and open to the public opening reception, where the artist will be present.

 Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Thompson grew up in Mississippi, where she attained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with an emphasis in painting. Thompson now lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area where she teaches high school art, sculpture, and AP 3D while also pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communications. Her teaching skills have been extended while serving as Camp Director at AMSET for the past 5 years.

Her personal life experiences impact her roles as designer and creator, Thompson said.

“Photos, billboards, magazines, colors, shapes and symbols have become increasingly present before my very eyes,” she said. “These images become part of my current visual culture. Throughout most of the 20th century, depictions of food, clothing, customs and every aspect of daily life were publicized in magazines providing a visual context of my American culture.”

Thompson believes our lives are all intertwined by a single thread, strand, or fiber. 

“In each of my designs, a common thread is presented between each element whether it be tangible or intangible,” she said. “Found objects, such as magazines from the 1920s to the 1980’s, and other various materials build up a sense of history, authenticity and objectivity. Through my creative practice of collaging vintage images or creating new compositions out various media, I find the context to a narrative.”

Dance and music have wielded a constant influence on her life as well, Thompson said. 

“The arts have not only played an important role in my life but also in American history,” she said. “The arts bridge the gap of cultural differences and help to find a common ground where at times words have failed. My artistic inspiration and future endeavors have so much to yet to be expressed as I continue to explore my personal life experience and American culture through my creative process.”

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

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Jennifer Thompson, Color Field Dancing, 2016, vintage magazine collage and watercolor on paper, 13.25 x 20 inches

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