AMST Announces Free Admission September 1-30, 2023, Thanks to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Enjoy free admission to Art Museum of South Texas as well as the upcoming Family Day: Celebrating Cultural Identities.

Corpus Christi, TX, September 2023: In celebration of exploring the theme of cultural identities and the traveling exhibition Collidoscope: de la Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective currently on view, the National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL) will underwrite the price of admission to the Art Museum of South Texas (AMST) for the month of September. This means free admission for all who wish to visit AMST.

“We are grateful that NMAL shares AMST’s mission to make art accessible for our community.  There is so much to learn and experience within the exhibition Collidoscope: de la Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective.  Through NMAL’s generosity, our visitors will have a free experience that will educate, captivate, and entertain,” stated AMST Director Sara Morgan.

The Collidoscope exhibition is a collaboration between the National Museum of the American Latino and The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of Riverside Art Museum (The Cheech). Additional support for the national tour has been generously provided by NMAL. The Cheech and NMAL’s decision to launch with an exhibition about the de la Torre Brothers speaks to the duo’s unique vision of the Latinx experience and American culture.

Family Day: Celebrating Cultural Identities
The Art Museum of South Texas has experience with celebrating blended cultures as the Museum’s structure represents a beautiful marriage of unique perspectives from Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta and Ohio-native architect Philip Johnson; the two buildings come together as one incredible masterpiece proudly representing Mexican and American cultures. However, it’s not enough to look the part, AMST also acts the part with organizing a free, Family Day Event, Celebrating Cultural Identities, Saturday September 16, 2023, from 1:00-4:00 PM.

“Celebrating our cultures helps us connect our communities,” said Jorge Zamanillo, founding director of NMAL. “Collaborating with places like the Art Museum of South Texas helps us learn about different Latino communities and recognize their unique stories and commonalities so that we can share their experiences within the national museum.” The public is invited to join AMST and NMAL for a fun-filled afternoon of activities for families and visitors of all ages. Activities include the making of lenticular prints, mixed media collages, translucent paintings, a community mural with artist Jimmy Peña, and a scavenger art hunt with prizes. Additionally, there will be live performances of music and dance, and light refreshments will be served.

A free shuttle will run back and forth between the Garcia Arts & Education Center, 2021 Agnes St. and the Art Museum between 12:30-4:30 PM for those needing access to the event.
Family Days are sponsored in part by Rally Credit Union; Celebrating Cultural Identities is supported in part by NMAL. The National Museum of the American Latino is grateful for General Motor’s support of the Molina Family Latino Gallery’s General Motors Learning Lounge and its Learning Program.
NMAL will help celebrate these cultures by giving the community of Corpus Christi the opportunity to explore AMST free of charge during the month of September, for themselves.

ABOUT THE DE LA TORRE BROTHERS: Collaborating artists and brothers Einar and Jamex de la Torre were born in Guadalajara, México (1963 and 1960, respectively) where they grew up until their family moved to California in 1972. They both studied at California State University at Long Beach and taught at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. Currently, the brothers live and work on both sides of the border (Ensenada, Baja California, México and San Diego, California). Since the mid-1990s, the brothers have collaborated in earnest and worked together to develop their signature style of mixed-media work with blown-glass sculpture and lenticular printing. Their pieces represent a multifaceted view of life that reflects a complex and humorous aesthetic that could be seen as baroque. Influences range from religious iconography to German expressionism while also paying homage to Mexican vernacular arts and pre-Columbian art. To date they have had 18 solo museum exhibitions in six different countries, completed eight major public art projects and have participated in four biennales. Their work is represented in numerous public and private collections, including the Cheech Marin Collection and they are recipients of the USA Fellowship Award, the San Diego Art Prize, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award, among other honors. The de la Torre brothers are represented by Koplin Del Rio Gallery in Seattle, Washington. To learn more, visit www.delatorrebrothers.art.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN LATINO: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino advances the representation, understanding and appreciation of Latino history and culture in the United States. The museum provides resources and collaborates with other museums to expand scholarly research, public programs, digital content, collections and more. The museum operates its Molina Family Latino Gallery, the Smithsonian’s first gallery dedicated to the Latino experience, at the National Museum of American History. The legislation creating the National Museum of the American Latino at the Smithsonian passed Dec. 27, 2020. Connect with the museum at latino.si.edu, and follow @USLatinoMuseum on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

ABOUT RAM AND THE CHEECH MARIN CENTER FOR CHICANO ART & CULTURE: RAM is one museum with two locations: the Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, which opened June 18, 2022, in downtown Riverside, the “City of Arts & Innovation.” RAM integrates art into the lives of people in a way that engages, inspires, and builds community by providing high quality exhibitions and art education programs that instill a lifelong love of the arts. RAM’s desire to further engage and serve the community was the impetus to create The Cheech, a public-private partnership between RAM, the City of Riverside, and comedian Cheech Marin—one of the world’s foremost collectors of Chicano art. Marin’s gift of approximately 500 works by Chicana/o/x artists—including the likes of Carlos Almaraz, Judithe Hernández, Gilbert “Magú” Luján, Sandy Rodriguez, Frank Romero, and Patssi Valdez—to RAM’s permanent collection makes the collection a repository for one of the largest holdings of Chicana/o/x art by a non-ethnic specific contemporary art museum. The Cheech is dedicated to showcasing Chicana/o/x art and honoring and exploring its continued social, cultural, and political impact through a comprehensive exhibitions program of the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions organized at the center, as well as nationally touring exhibitions that align with the center’s vision. The Cheech intends to work collaboratively with community partners to present thought-provoking educational programming that explores the complexity of Chicana/o/x culture not only through the visual arts, but in both music and film as well, recognizing that this art is evolving and expanding its definitions and parameters in response to current social conditions and in conversation with global artistic movements. For information about The Cheech, visit www.thecheechcenter.org. Find The Cheech on Facebook (www.facebook.com/thecheechcenter), Twitter (@thecheechcenter), and Instagram (@thecheechcenter).

About the Art Bridges Cohort Program
Originated in 2018, the Art Bridges Cohort Program is committed to supporting multiyear exhibition partnerships among museums nationwide. The program builds on Art Bridges’ mission to expand access to American art across the United States and to empower museums to broaden traditional definitions of American art. For each cohort, an organizing museum and its regional partners collaborate to create exhibitions that inspire and deepen engagement with local audiences. Sharing collections and resources, the program’s dynamic partnerships will generate over 80 exhibitions that are content rich, include in-depth educational and interpretive materials, and are designed to meet a wide range of audience interests.

About Art Bridges
Art Bridges is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. The mission of Art Bridges is to expand access to American art in all regions across the United States. Since 2017, Art Bridges has been creating and supporting programs that bring outstanding works of American art out of storage and into communities. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of over 190 museums of all sizes and locations to provide financial and strategic support for exhibition development, loans from the Art Bridges collection, and programs designed to inspire and deepen engagement with local audiences. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to the present day and encompasses multiple media and voices. To learn more about Art Bridges, follow the hashtag #ArtBridges on social media and visit www.artbridgesfoundation.org.

About the Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Located in the heart of Fort Worth’s Cultural District, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) is a dynamic cultural resource that provides unique access and insight into the history and future of American creativity through its expansive exhibitions and programming. The Carter’s preeminent collection includes masterworks by legendary American artists such as Ruth Asawa, Alexander Calder, Frederic Church, Stuart Davis, Robert Duncanson, Thomas Eakins, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence, and John Singer Sargent, as well as one of the country’s foremost repositories of American photography. In addition to its innovative exhibition program and engagement with artists working today, the Museum’s premier primary research collection and leading conservation program make it a must-see destination for art lovers and scholars of all ages nationwide. Admission is always free. To learn more about the Carter, visit cartermuseum.org.

ABOUT THE ART MUSEUM OF SOUTH TEXAS: The Art Museum of South Texas advances awareness, appreciation, and knowledge of visual art by presenting exciting exhibitions, offering dynamic education programs, and actively collecting and preserving a vital permanent collection that educates diverse communities.

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