Blaffer Gallery
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| Blaffer Gallery | |
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| Established | 1973 |
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| Location | University of Houston |
| Visitor figures | 30,000+ |
| Director | Terrie Sultan |
| Curator | Claudia Schmuckli |
| Website | Blaffer Gallery Home |
Blaffer Gallery is an art museum at the University of Houston.
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[edit] History
The Sarah Campbell Blaffer Gallery was founded in 1973[1], named in honor of the late Sarah Campbell Blaffer, who during her lifetime made available to the University a collection of major artworks dating from the fifteenth century to modern day. This collection was purchased in 1979 by the Blaffer Foundation, an independent organization that is unrelated to the museum and the University. The income from the investment of the sale proceeds provides a portion of Blaffer Gallery's program budget.
Over its 29-year history, Blaffer Gallery has presented over 250 exhibitions. The current exhibition policy, adopted by the Advisory Board and University Regents in 1986, focuses upon art of the past 100 years and its artistic, cultural and intellectual antecedents. Following a facility expansion in 1999, the museum now presents and/or originates between six to eight exhibitions annually. The annual schedule may include major traveling exhibitions that have a particular relevance to Houston audiences; mid-sized retrospectives of national and international artists; exhibitions of regional artists; thematic surveys which place artists' work into new contexts; and special projects by local artists. Blaffer Gallery is dedicated to conducting original scholarship and research in contemporary art history. The museum frequently forges collaborative partnerships from among Houston's wealth of cultural organizations and educational institutions. Exhibition-related public programs and activities complement and elucidate each exhibition, from casual Brown Bag Lunch Tours to lively audience interaction during their "Contemporary Salons."
[edit] Exhibitions
Exhibitions organized by Blaffer Gallery include the Houston Area Exhibition, presented every four years and open to artists residing within 100 miles of downtown Houston; jurors for the 2000 Houston Area Exhibition honed 1,600 entries down to a dazzling presentation of emerging and established local talent. The 1997 exhibition, Michael Ray Charles: An American Artist's Work drew more than 10,000 visitors and traveled to the Austin Museum of Art and the Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati, Ohio; our stunning two-volume catalogue won the First Prize for Publications from the American Association of Museums. Traveling exhibitions, selected for specific regional interests, have also proven to be blockbusters: the fascinating paintings, works on paper and assemblages of Spirited Journeys: Self Taught Texas Artists (1998); Luis Jimenez: Working Class Heroes (1999); Donald Lipski: A Brief History of Twine (2001) and the Here & There/Aquí y Allá: Six Artists from San Juan (2002). Blaffer Gallery's stimulating programming attracts 30,000+ visitors annually.
[edit] Programs
In 1988, Blaffer Gallery began a unique educational program for school children, UHReach. This program is now recognized nationally as an exemplary, multi-faceted outreach initiative. Blaffer has built intensive relationships with 18 elementary, middle and high schools in the neighborhoods surrounding the museum and UHReach serves schools from 24 area districts. A diverse corps of students from UH and Texas Southern University are extensively trained and employed as docents for UHReach. They lead dialogue-based tours of the exhibitions and also visit school classrooms to conduct pre- and post-tour activities. In addition to exhibition tours, Blaffer Gallery offers the Young Artists Apprenticeship Program, a 6-week, after-school workshop for special needs teens. An artist-mentor leads teens in an in-depth exploration of an artistic medium, such as printmaking or videography, culminating in a museum exhibition of the young artists' work.
[edit] Education
Education programs are central to Blaffer Gallery's mission to serve as a resource for the study of art, art history and other related disciplines. By extending the educational and scholarly programs of the University to the community, the museum promotes learning as a continuous process, linking contemporary ideas and people. Through a broad range of programs, Blaffer presents enriching museum experiences while providing arts education opportunities for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
