MMofA to celebrate 60th anniversary with Birthday Bash and blockbuster exhibition
Sep 30th, 2024
Posted in: Press ReleaseMobile Museum of Art
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mary Beth Lursen, 251.208.5234
MaryBeth.Lursen@MobileMuseumofArt.com
MMofA to celebrate 60th anniversary with Birthday Bash and blockbuster exhibition
MOBILE, Ala. – On October 26, 2024, Mobile Museum of Art (MMofA) will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its founding with a 1960s-themed Birthday Bash and the opening of the special exhibition,1960s Hard Edge and Op Art: Tribute to the Responsive Eye.
“To commemorate MMofA’s milestone birthday, our team has been working hard to ensure that the galleries are filled with breathtaking art,” MMofA Executive Director Jon Carfagno says. “We look forward to inviting the community as well as visitors to our region to celebrate with us.”
1960s Hard Edge and Op Art is a blockbuster exhibition that recreates the Museum of Modern Art’s (NYC) pioneering show The Responsive Eye, which coincided with the founding of MMofA in 1964. This exhibition features works from optical art (abbreviated as op art) and hard-edge movements and artists such as Josef Albers, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Gene Davis, Julian Stanczak, and Frank Stella. For this exhibition, MMofA has secured loans from across the country including the Art Bridges Foundation (Bentonville, AR), Bechtler Museum of Modern Art (Charlotte, NC), Birmingham Museum of Art (Birmingham, AL), The Thoma Foundation (Dallas, TX), and Wiregrass Museum of Art (Dothan, AL).
1960s Hard Edge and Op Art officially opens on October 26, 2024, for Mobile Museum of Art’s Birthday Bash: Celebrating 60 Years of Creativity, a ticketed party to celebrate the anniversary. BeatleBeat, a Beatles tribute band out of Orlando, FL frequently used by Walt Disney World, will be performing as a nod to another big event that happened in 1964 — the start of the British Invasion. Party attendees are encouraged to come in their finest 60s-themed attire and have a groovy time. The Birthday Bash is generously sponsored by Hargrove Foundation.
Tickets for the Birthday Bash are on sale now $175 for one and $350 for two. This fundraiser will support MMofA's next 60 years, and your ticket includes an exclusive first peek at 1960s Hard Edge and Op Art, two performances by BeatleBeat, heavy hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, and other surprises throughout the night! Tickets are available for purchase on MMofA's website. On October 14, ticket prices will raise to $200 per ticket, so buying early is encouraged.
MMofA will follow up the ticketed event with a community birthday party for the Museum on November 9, 2024. The event will be free to the public and fun for all ages with more details to follow in the coming months.
1960s Hard Edge and Op Art: Tribute to the Responsive Eye is generously funded by The Crampton Trust with support from the J.L. Bedsole Foundation, the A.S. Mitchell Foundation, the Sybil H. Smith Charitable Trust, Representative Chris Pringle, and Representative Mark Shirey. All Museum exhibitions and programs are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the City of Mobile. 1960s Hard Edge and Op Art: Tribute to the Responsive Eye will be on view at Mobile Museum of Art from October 26, 2024, through April 12, 2025. For more information about this exhibition and the Birthday Bash, visit www.MobileMuseumofArt.com/60.
About the Mobile Museum of Art
Open: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm
Closed: Monday, Sunday & all City of Mobile Holidays
Langan Municipal Park | 4850 Museum Drive | Mobile, AL 36608 | 251.208.5200
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