Yes, it is possible to enjoy a quality art experience in Austin, even when your finances are tight! The Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin offers free admission every Thursday, and extended hours until 9:00 pm every third Thursday.
The Blanton Museum makes the largest and most comprehensive collection of art in Central Texas within reach of all Austinites. The building itself is beautiful, with a welcoming atrium that is often a showcase to local musical talent such as the Bach Cantata Project and the UT Faculty Chamber Ensemble. Programs at the Blanton enhance the visitor's experience of it's collection, which comprises over 17,000 works of art in a variety of mediums, with Western European art from the fourteenth to twentieth centuries and modern and contemporary American and Latin American art.
Educational and family programs, classes, guest speakers and special "art happening" events such as the B-Scene help to make the museum more accessible to a wider audience. The Blanton's visiting exhibition schedule allows visitors to experience a broad range of artistic expression and history. (During an exhibition of Japanese wood cut prints, a local artist who has mastered the ancient technique of wood cut prints demonstrated this process to visitors.) The museum offers themed tours of the permanent collection and visiting exhibits every Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm and every Thursday at 12:30 pm.
Third Thursdays are monthly events from 5 to 9 pm that feature extended museum hours and multiple programs, including artist talks and screenings; Yoga in the Galleries, the Blanton Book Club , which makes connections between specific books and works of art in the collection or special exhibition; and guided tours at 7:30 pm.
Located at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Congress Avenue, the museum is across the street from the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and is adjacent to downtown Austin.
Blanton Museum of Art
(512) 471-5482
200 East Martin Luther King Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78701
Tuesday-Friday 10:00 am -5:00 pm (Third Thursdays open until 9:00 pm)
Saturday 11:00 am -5:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm -5:00 pm
Adults $9.00
Seniors $7.00
Youth $5.00
Free admission for children (12 & under), Active-duty military, Blanton members, UT faculty, students and staff, and college students.
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