Toledo Museum ends year with Great Art Escape

Image from Toledo Museum of Art

From TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ARTS

Celebrate the season with a diverse array of activities, events, and performances during the Great Art Escape, which returns to the Museum Dec. 26 through 30, 2018 and Jan. 1, 2019. Activities include Peristyle performances, Dutch organ concerts, glassblowing demonstrations, glass art workshops, Family Center activities, drawing in the galleries, family studio workshops, and more.

Peristyle performances include the infectious Southeast Asian experience provided by Aha! Indian Dance, El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folkorico, JP Dynasty, the Ardan Academy of Irish Dance, and the Greater Toledo International Youth Orchestra. Dutch organ concerts will take place at 1 p.m. in Gallery 24 each day.

The Great Art Escape is sponsored in part by Taylor Cadillac. 

Demos, Activities & Entertainment

PERISTYLE PERFORMANCES: 2 p.m., Peristyle Stage

  • Wednesday, Dec. 26: Ardan Academy of Irish Dance
  • Thursday, Dec. 27: JP Dynasty
  • Friday, Dec. 28: El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico
  • Saturday, Dec. 29: Dancers of Aha! Indian Dance
  • Sunday, Dec. 30: Greater Toledo International Youth Orchestra

DUTCH ORGAN CONCERTS: 1 p.m., Gallery 24

  • Wednesday, Dec. 26, Dennis Johns
  • Thursday, Dec. 27, Nancy Russel
  • Friday, Dec. 28, Martha Esbin
  • Saturday, Dec. 29, Pamela Stover,
  • Sunday, Dec. 30, Dennis Blubaugh
  • Tuesday, Jan. 1, Charlotte Mariasy

MUSIC PERFORMANCES:

  • Thursday, Dec. 27: Frans Hals Community Program: Family Band Showcase, 7-9 p.m., Levis Gallery

SNOW GLOBE SOCIAL:

Friday, Dec. 28, 7-10 p.m., GlasSalon

Add the Museum’s Snow Globe Social to your holiday plans! Stay warm with seasonal drinks, test your knowledge at trivia, and shake off the winter blues with dancing and live music. Gather your friends for some holiday fun in the Glass Pavilion. Admission is free; cash bar available.

(Re)New Year’s Day

Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2-4 p.m., GlasSalon

Celebrate (Re)New Year’s Day by participating in a one-of-a-kind experience inspired by art, yoga, movement, and meditation. Then, meet and mingle in the GlasSalon to enjoy refreshing, locally-sourced beverages and design your own Vision Board. Wear comfortable clothing and bring a yoga mat. Registration is encouraged*.

(Re)New Year’s Day is presented by Circle, the Toledo Museum of Art’s affinity group dedicated to inclusive and innovative programming that engages new audiences with the Museum.

GLASSBLOWING DEMOS: Glass Pavilion Hot Shop

  • Wednesday, Dec. 26: 1, 2, and 3 p.m.
  • Thursday, Dec. 27: 1, 2, 3, and 8 p.m.
  • Friday, Dec. 28: 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 p.m.
  • Saturday, Dec. 29: 1, 2, and 3 p.m.
  • Sunday, Dec. 30: 1, 2, and 3 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Jan. 1: 1, 2, and 3 p.m.

GIANT CHESS, during Museum hours, Great Gallery

Bring along family, friends and try to checkmate among the grandest works of art. Created in the Family Center by Justin Overholt with the help from Jones Leadership Academy Chess Club, Family Center Visitors and other community members.

GLASS ART WORKSHOPS: Glass Pavilion Hot-Shop

  • Blown Ornaments:
    • Friday Dec. 28: 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
    • Saturday Dec. 29: 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Pick Your Own Project
    • Thursday Dec. 27: 6:30 p.m.
    • Sunday Dec. 30: 3 p.m.

FAMILY CENTER ACTIVITIES:

  • Every Family is unique, and the holidays are a perfect time to celebrate. Come see the Frans Hals Exhibition: A Family Reunion create a work of art together in the Family Center that your family will treasure for years to come.
    • Wednesday, Dec. 26: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
    • Thursday, Dec. 27: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (extended)
    • Friday, Dec. 28: 3:30-8 p.m.
    • Saturday, Dec. 29: noon-5 p.m.
    • Sunday, Dec. 30: noon-5 p.m.
    • Tuesday, Jan. 1: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

FAMILY CENTER VISITING ARTIST: VESTER FREY 

Friday, Dec. 28, 6-7 p.m., Family Center

  • Vester Frey plays old-time music ranging from Appalachian standards to Delta blues and shares the stories behind those songs. On December 28 he will entertain in the Family Center, backed by Larry Meyer on percussion.

DRAWING IN THE GALLERIES
12-2 p.m., Galleries

  • Using the TMA Collection as inspiration, join us as we draw in the galleries. Facilitated by an art instructor, all drawing supplies provided. No experience necessary. All ages welcome!

FAMILY STUDIO WORKSHOPS:

GLASS ART WORKSHOPS FOR ALL AGES: FROSTY GLASS

  • Work with our Glass Instructors to create your very own frosty glass.  Apply stickers and decals to a clear glass or mug that will be frosted to reveal your own unique designs; then take your creation over to the Glass Pavilion Café for a special treat. Register online: [$20 members / $25 nonmembers for 1 child + accompanying adult] Sponsored in part by Libbey, Inc.

POP UP CAFÉ , 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m., Libbey Court

Located in Libbey Court, this pop-up café features hot drinks and sweet treats during the Great Art Escape.

  • Menu
    • Spiked Hot Chocolate – $5
    • Hot Chocolate – $2.50
    • Whiskey Roasted Walnuts – $5
    • Candied Pecans – $5
    • Peppermint Bark – $5
    • Spicy Pepita Brittle – $3
    • Whole Fruit – $1
    • Bottle water – $2
    • Canned Pop – $1.50
    • Coffee – $2

Current Exhibitions:

Three temporary exhibitions organized by the Museum’s curators are sure to delight visitors of all ages:

Rebecca Louise Law: Community 

Jun. 16, 2018-Jan. 13, 2019, Canaday Gallery

British artist Rebecca Louise Law has designed and created a site-specific installation using both dried and fresh plant materials to form an immersive visitor experience that explores the relationship between humanity and nature. The artist sourced thousands of plants and flowers native to the region for the project, which required 1,650 volunteer hours of assistance from community members, thematically and literally representing northwest Ohio. A proponent of sustainability, Law has also repurposed flowers that were previously used in her other installations from around the world. (Click to read BG Indy story.)

Sights & Sounds: Art, Nature, and the Senses 

Jul. 21, 2018-Feb. 24, 2019, New Media Gallery

A multisensory art installation of video, new media and works on paper by artists from around the world launches a recently renovated gallery dedicated to contemporary art at the Toledo Museum of Art. Sights & Sounds: Art, Nature, and the Senses presents modern and contemporary works of art in a variety of media that explore and relate to the natural world. Many of the works are recent acquisitions installed for the first time, while others from TMA’s acclaimed collection have only been shown occasionally. (Click to read BG Indy story.)

Frans Hals Portraits: A Family Reunion

Oct. 13, 2018-Jan. 6, 2019, Levis Gallery

This exhibition is the first devoted to the family portraiture of Frans Hals (1582/83–1666), one of the foremost painters of the Dutch Golden Age. Organized by the Toledo Museum of Art and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, the exhibition was prompted by the Toledo Museum of Art’s acquisition in 2011 of Frans Hals’s Van Campen Family in a Landscape, as well as the recent conservation of Brussels’ Three Children of the Van Campen Family. These two works originally formed one composition, separated for unknown reasons likely in the late 18th century or early 19th century. The exhibition reunites the sections of the Toledo/Brussels painting, where it will be shown with the three other family portraits painted by the artist, and includes loans from the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, the National Gallery in London, the Cincinnati Art Museum and other distinguished collections. The exhibition will travel to Brussels following its Toledo debut. A scholarly publication accompanies the exhibition. (Click to read BG Indy story.)