From TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART
Inspired by the Life Is a Highway: Art and American Car Culture exhibition, the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) is hosting a classic car weekend Aug. 23-24 with a drive-in movie, a car show on Monroe Street, and a fundraising event organized by the TMA Ambassadors.
The Museum will show a free screening of American Graffiti as part of its Films in the Great Outdoor series Friday, Aug. 23 at 9:15 p.m. in Parking Lot 3, located on the southeast side of the campus. This coming-of-age film, directed and co-written by George Lucas, tells the story of a group of teenagers and their adventures over the course of a single night during the summer of 1962.
Visitors with vehicles built before 1963 are invited to bring their cars and watch from Parking Lot 3. Other guests are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets and watch from the grassy areas on the north and east side of the lot.
On Saturday, Aug. 24 from noon to 3 p.m., art and car enthusiasts alike are invited to view unique vehicles, enjoy live music by The Good, The Bad, and The Blues, and participate in kid-friendly art-making experiences during a free, classic car show on Monroe Street in front of the Museum. The University of Toledo Rocket Marching Band will make a special appearance on the Monroe Street terrace of the Museum as part of the afternoon festivities.
“As part of the Life Is a Highway exhibition, TMA wants visitors to not only see the exhibition but experience a bit of car culture by having car shows on the Museum grounds,” said Maria Iafelice, the Museum’s youth and family programs manager. “We have really enjoyed the first two car shows and we expect this to be another fun weekend.”
The TMA Car Show series is supported in part by BP America, Taylor Cadillac, the Ohio Arts Council, ProMedica, and Hylant.
The TMA Ambassadors will host the TMA Highway Ride, a fundraising event full of car culture summer fun, Saturday, Aug. 24 from 7 to 11 p.m. in the GlasSalon. The event features live music by The Grape Smugglers, slot car racing, a racecar simulator, a special car-themed glassblowing demonstration, grazing stations with locally sourced summer fare, and a cash bar.
Tickets are $100 for Museum members and $125 for nonmembers in advance; day-of tickets are $150 for members and nonmembers alike. The TMA Highway ride is generously sponsored by The Jim White Family in memory of Sue White, former president of the TMA Ambassadors.
Life Is a Highway: Art and American Car Culture explores the rise of the automobile as a popular visual symbol of American culture through more than 150 works of art in a wide variety of media— including painting, sculpture, photography, prints, and drawings— and a diversity of artists and perspectives, drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection along with important loans from many other North American institutions.
The exhibition is on view through Sunday, Sept. 15. Admission to the exhibition is free for Museum members and $12 for nonmembers, with additional discounts for seniors, college students, military ($10) and youth ages 5-17 ($7). Children ages four and younger receive free admission to the exhibition. Life Is a Highway: Art and American Car Culture is presented by BP America with additional support from Taylor Cadillac, the Ohio Arts Council, and 2019 Exhibition Program Sponsor ProMedica.
