Attraction ·
Arlington Museum of Art
The Arlington Museum of Art is dedicated to championing creativity and to providing access to art for the cultural enrichment and economic development of our community.
The Mission: The Arlington Museum of Art exists to champion creativity and provide access to art for the cultural enrichment and economic development of our community.Snapshot:
Located in an art moderne 1950s former department store building with a two-story expansive open gallery, the AMA is the anchor of a revitalizing downtown Arlington. The oldest art organization in Arlington, it began 45 years ago as an art association and fulfilled its dream to become a museum in 1989.
History:
In 1937 Arista and Howard Joyner came to Arlington to teach at what is now UTA. Howard was hired to start the art department and Arista taught art. Both had studied and completed programs at the Kansas City Art Institute. In 1952, to promote art and interest in the community, they established the Arlington Art Association. Founding members included Anna Wynette and Tom Vandergriff, Eleanor Grace and James Martin, the Hawkes families, Mattie Lewis and the Shakespeare Club.
Around 1970 Carolyn Snider, a mover and shaker in Arlington, was elected president. Mrs. Snider upgraded the juried shows, raising funds to award cash prizes. Jurors, heretofore primarily artists, were selected from the ranks of art museum professionals, university art professors, art critics and professional curators. This policy continued into the eighties. For most of that time the Arlington Art Association juried show was the only one of its kind in the Metroplex.
In the early 80s the Arlington Art Association started annual art auctions to raise funds for college scholarships and to start saving for the purchase of a building. Scholarships totaling $2000 each year ($500 for a graduating senior from each of four high schools) were awarded for several years and the savings account for the building grew to $60,000 by 1986. In 1987 the JC Penney building was purchased from an Arlington group that included the Ross families; a significant part of the selling price was donated by that group and the remainder was financed. With the purchase of the building the name was changed and the organization incorporated as the Arlington Museum of Art.
In May of 1990 the first major show of contemporary art at the AMA, Woodwork, attracted the interest of the Dallas art patrons Nona and Richard Barrett. They offered matching funds to hire a director on condition that the museum's mission and focus be Texas contemporary art. A successful fund drive for the match was accomplished and Joan Davidow was hired in April 1991.
Joan resigned her position of almost 10 years in September 2000. The Board has honored Joan with the title of Director Emeritus. She left the Museum on strong footing, with a level of national recognition seldom achieved by Museums this size. The legacy of her exhibitions of cutting-edge contemporary Texas art has earned the attention of art lovers in the Metroplex, around the State and across the US. In February 2001, AMA museum manager Anne Allen became the AMA's new Director. Before joining the Museum, Ms. Allen served as Executive Director of The Old Jail Art Center in Albany, Texas. Under Ms. Allen's direction, the AMA has expanded its exhibition schedule and added a number of new programs, notably gallery talks and artist lectures, designed to appeal to the art educated and art curious alike.
Hours
Tuesday- Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.Sunday: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Admission
Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students with ID and seniors 65+, and free for children under 12. Donations are welcome.Calendar of Events
| Chics Who Click Photography Exhibit | |
| Spanish Colonial Art | |
| An Evening in Italy |
