Toledo Museum of Art Celebrates International Museum Day
with Museum Day Video Challenge

TOLEDO, OHIO–The Toledo Museum of Art invites Museum patrons to help celebrate International Museum Day with a Museum Day Video Challenge.

     An annual event, scheduled this year for May 18, International Museum Day aims to raise awareness of the role museums play in the development of society. Thousands of museums participate worldwide. This year’s theme is “Museums (Memory + Creativity) = Social Change.”

     TMA wants to see what visitors love about the Museum. Patrons are invited to record a short video clip of themselves explaining why they believe a visit to TMA is a memorable experience. Submissions can be up to 60 seconds long and must be filmed at TMA. Participants will then upload the videos to YouTube and send a link to the museum via a form on the Museum’s website.

     Entrants are encouraged to film videos in areas that they particularly enjoy, whether it be the main Museum building, the Glass Pavilion, the Welles Sculpture Garden or anywhere else on the grounds. The question is open-ended, and possible video topics include a favorite work of art, a powerful memory, an impact the Museum has had on visitors personally and more.

     Winners will receive Museum gift cards and can proudly see their videos featured on the TMA website, as well as the Museum's YouTube and Facebook pages.

     International Museum Day was originally established in 1977 by the International Council of Museums. Nearly 32,000 museums held events in over 129 countries for last year’s event theme of “Museums in a Changing World: New Challenges, New Inspirations.” The American Association of Museum Directors promotes the event through its members in the United States, including the Toledo Museum of Art.

     TMA first celebrated International Museum Day in 2011 with the theme of “Museums and Memory.” Museum directors Graham W.J. Beal of the Detroit Institute of Arts, David Franklin of the Cleveland Museum of Art and TMA’s Director Brian Kennedy gathered to discuss the theme and how museum objects can impact visitors, among other celebrations. Last year the Museum took portraits of TMA visitors, staff and volunteers that were shown floor-to-ceiling in an exhibition called Museum People: Faces of TMA.

    As it allows patrons the opportunity to reflect and explore their creativity in the context of TMA, the Museum Day Video Challenge truly represents the theme of “Museums (Memory + Creativity) = Social Change.”

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Note: For more information contact Kelly Fritz Garrow, director of communications, at 419-255-8000, ext. 7408, or kgarrow@toledomuseum.org.

The Toledo Museum of Art is a nonprofit arts institution funded through individual donations, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and investments.  The Ohio Arts Council helps fund programs at the Toledo Museum of Art through a sustainability grant program that encourages economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Glass Pavilion® and Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion® are registered service marks.

Admission to the Museum is free.  The Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.;  Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, Noon to 6 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays. Friday evening hours are made possible by Fifth Third Bank.

The Museum is located at 2445 Monroe Street at Scottwood Avenue, just west of the downtown business district and one block off I-75 with exit designations posted.  For general information, visitors can call 419-255-8000 or 800-644-6862, or visit toledomuseum.org.

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