Sgt. Misha Pemble-Belkin poses with his portrait by the late Tim Hetherington at the Honolulu Museum of Art. The portrait was on view as part of Courage and Strength: Portraits of Those Who Have Served exhibition. More information on the Honolulu Museum of Art's military outreach is below.

Following is our monthly roundup of stories demonstrating the myriad ways AAMD member museums serve their communities.  

Military Outreach at the Honolulu Museum of Art

Honolulu Museum of Art director Stephan Jost was interviewed on the  National Endowment for the Arts' Art Works podcast about the museum's close relationship with the military in Hawaii. Jost says the museum is particularly proud of the Warriors' Eyes on Art program, a partnership with Honolulu's Tripler Army Medical Center. Service men and women in treatment for P.T.S.D. visit the museum before hours to visit the galleries and create art works of their own with professionals from the museum and medical center.  More information on the Museum's military outreach, including the Blue Star Museums program, is available on AAMD's website.

 

Solar Panels Pay Off for Toledo Museum of Art 

From Toledo News Now: The Toledo Museum of Art was able to go off the power grid for the first time on May 21, due to the more than 4,000 solar panels installed on and around the Museum. "We weren't paying any money for energy," said director Brian Kennedy. "We were actually giving energy back." This feat was the culmination of a twenty-year project to make the museum more energy-efficient; since then, the museum has lowered energy costs by 80%. 

Unique Museum-Preschool Partnership at the deCordova  

The Boston Globe reports on the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Garden's ongoing partnership with Lincoln Nursery School, now housed on the museum's grounds. LNS students work with artists exhibiting at the deCordova and receive behind-the-scenes access to the museum and sculpture garden. Artists are often influenced by the students, as well. "I think what I find most exciting about what they've been able to do, is the web of engagement they've created in the preschool through art," said Shari Tishman, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "They are learning in a living, engaging way, thanks to their use of art." 

Pinedale High School's "Time to Make Waves" won first place in the National Museum of Wildlife Art's Traveling Trout competition.

National Museum of Wildlife Art Awards High School Art Programs   

The National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole held a statewide art competition for Wyoming high schools earlier this year. "Traveling Trout" challenged 37 schools throughout the state to transform an unadorned fiberglass trout into a work of art; winning schools were awarded funds to support art programs. Pinedale High School won first place and $7,000 for their art department. All 37 fish will be displayed at the Museum's Sculpture Trail through October 6. More information on the competition is available here.  

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Displays Student-Penned Labels