Yolanda Urrabazo
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McNay Art Museum Receives $175,000 from the Henry Luce Foundation to Support
Summer 2019 Exhibition, Transamerica/n: Gender, Identity, Appearance Today
San Antonio, TX (January 29, 2019) – The McNay Art Museum is proud to announce a $175,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation for the upcoming exhibition, Transamerica/n: Gender, Identity, Appearance Today, opening this summer. Each year, the Henry Luce Foundation’s American Art Program supports exhibitions that are anticipated to make significant contributions to the public and scholarly understanding and experience of the United States. Chosen from a highly competitive pool of applicants, the McNay is one of 14 museums across the country to receive funding from this year’s competition.
“We are profoundly honored to have the support of the Henry Luce Foundation for this pioneering exhibition,” said Richard Aste, Director of the McNay. “Because of such major support, the McNay can realize its vision of becoming a safe community center where every visitor can see themselves, be their authentic selves, and know they were truly meant to be here.”
Transamerica/n: Gender, Identity, Appearance Today is the country’s first broad survey of contemporary artwork from across North America to explore the spectrum of gender identity as manifest in outward appearance. Transformative, transcendent, and trans-historical, Transamerica/n commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, and challenges traditional representations of gender by celebrating a spectrum of visual gender expression through various mediums. The McNay will showcase artists from underrepresented backgrounds in the United States, Mexico, and Canada who are deeply committed to exploring shifting definitions of gender identity and bravely testing the limits of identity politics.
“The Luce Foundation’s American Art Program is pleased to support the McNay’s exciting exhibition project, which will invite viewers to experience how powerful works of art can help them consider how they perceive the world of people around them,” said Dr. Teresa Carbone, American Art Program Director.
During the exhibition, the Museum is offering an internship opportunity thanks to the Association of Art Museum Directors’ new program focused on college students from underrepresented communities. As a part of the Museum’s Education department, the 12-week internship offers real-world experiences, hands-on training, and practice in developing programming and interactive performances within the Transamerica/n exhibition. Applications for the internship are due March 1, 2019 and can be submitted at mcnayart.org. The Museum will make its final decision and contact the candidate by April 15.
Transamerica/n: Gender, Identity, Appearance Today was conceived by René Paul Barilleaux, Head of Curatorial Affairs, and is organized with Jackie Edwards, Assistant Curator, and Bianca Alvarez, 2017-2018 Semmes Foundation Intern in Museum Studies, assisted by Lauren Thompson, 2018-2019 Semmes Foundation Intern in Museum Studies.
About the McNay Art Museum
The McNay Art Museum engages a diverse community in the discovery and enjoyment of the visual arts. Built in the 1920s by artist and educator Marion Koogler McNay, the Spanish Colonial Revival residence became the site of Texas’s first museum of modern art when it opened in 1954. Today, more than 140,000 visitors a year enjoy works by modern masters including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The 23 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds include sculptures by Robert Indiana, Luis A. Jiménez Jr., George Rickey, Joel Shapiro, and Kiki Smith. The 45,000 square-foot Jane & Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions, designed by internationally renowned French architect Jean-Paul Viguier, features three significant exhibitions annually.
For almost 65 years, the McNay has enchanted visitors with its art, architecture, and ambiance. The museum offers rich and varied exhibitions as well as rotating displays in the Main Collection Galleries from the 20,000 works in the collection; more than 45,000 adults, teachers, students, and families take advantage of a variety of education programs and innovative educational resources.
About the Henry Luce Foundation
The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to enrich public discourse by promoting innovative scholarship, cultivating new leaders, and fostering international understanding. The Foundation advances its mission through grantmaking and leadership programs in the fields of Asia, higher education, religion and theology, art, and public policy. The Foundation’s American Art Program, a leader in arts funding since 1982, supports museums, arts organizations, and universities, in their efforts to advance the understanding and experience of American and Native American visual arts through research, exhibitions, collection projects, and publications.
Media Contact
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