Butler museum receives $10K arts grant

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Butler Institute of American Art, 524 Wick Ave., has been awarded a $10,000 Arts Engagement in American Communities grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support public programming for its fall exhibition, “California Impressionism: Selections from the Irvine Collection.”

The NEA is the federal agency that supports and funds the arts to give all Americans the opportunity to experience creativity and to participate in the arts. NEA programs and funding support thousands of activities in communities large and small across the country, including about 30,000 performances and 3,000 exhibitions annually.

In the 20th century, California produced a unique artistic style that combined several distinctive aspects of American and European art.

This style, which is often called California Impressionism or California Plein Air painting (after the French term for “in the open air”), concerned itself with light and color. As a variant of the American Impressionist style, the land became the principal subject of this style.

The upcoming Butler exhibition displays choice pieces from the prestigious Irvine Museum collection.

A variety of free public programs will be presented by the Butler during the run of the exhibition, which opens Oct. 4 and continues through Nov. 29.

”This NEA grant will enable the Butler to offer the kind of arts programming that will benefit entire families,” said Louis Zona, director of the Butler.

“We are truly grateful to receive this special funding and recognize that it is another wonderful honor for the Butler.”

To learn more about the National Endowment for the Arts, go to arts.gov. Butler hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays and major holidays. For information, email info@butlerart.com or go to butlerart.com.