San Diego, Calif., - NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman and Blue Star
Families Chairman Kathy Roth-Douquet announced the launch of Blue Star
Museums, a partnership with more than 700 museums across America to offer
free admission to all active duty and reserve military personnel and their
families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2010.
The complete list of participating museums is available at www.arts.gov.
Following the announcement, Landesman, Roth-Douquet and Sanders escorted
six, local military families to visit the San Diego Museum of Art, the
Museum of Photographic Arts, and, the Mingei International Museum. The six
families represented the five branches of the military - Air Force, Army,
Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy - as well as our National Guard and reserve
forces.
"America's museums are proud to join the rest of the country in thanking our
military personnel and their families for their service and sacrifice," said
Landesman. "I cannot imagine a better way to do that than welcoming them in
to explore and enjoy the extraordinary cultural heritage our museums
present. The works of art on view this summer will certainly inspire and
challenge viewers - and sometimes they will just be a great deal of fun."
"There have always been wonderful examples of partnerships between museums
and military installations, but the scale of this gift from the museum
community to military families is thrilling," said Blue Star Families
Chairman Kathy Roth-Douquet. "Military families work hard for this country,
and it is gratifying for us to be recognized for that. We anticipate that
thousands of military families will participate in the program and visit
museums this summer - many of them for the first time. Blue Star Families
will work hard to help our military families make the most of these
opportunities."
In addition to being Chairman of Blue Star Families, Roth-Douquet is married
to a Marine Corps officer, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan.
"Part of being a military family means limited time together," said Sherri
Brown, Marine Corps spouse and mother of two. "Blue Star Museums gives
military families the chance at quality time together, that is both fun and
educational without the worry of affordability. Summer can be a very long
time with a parent away, and for those families, this will also help take
their minds off what is going on overseas and make the time go faster."
More than six hundred museums in all 50 states and the District of Columbia
are taking part in the initiative.
"The Blue Star Museums program is an incredibly creative and thoughtful way
to honor all the sacrifices of our troops and their families," said San
Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. "And what better place to kick it off than San
Diego, which has so many wonderful military families and so many world-class
museums."
The American Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum
Directors, and the Association of Children's Museums each sent a letter from
NEA Chairman Landesman inviting museums to participate in this program. In
addition to thirty children's museums across the country, participating
museums represent a broad range of art, history, science, and cultural
topics, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas; the California
Surf Museum in Oceanside, California; the Mission San Luis, a living history
site and historic landmark in Tallahassee, Florida; the International Quilt
Study Center and Museum at the University of Lincoln - Nebraska; the Art
Institute of Chicago, Illinois; and the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New
Hampshire.