Holter Museum of Art Wins MetLife Foundation Museum and Community Connections Grant

HELENA, Mont. December 7, 2009 – The Holter Museum of Art has been awarded a MetLife Foundation 2009 Museum and Community Connections grant of $45,000 to support a new audience initiative called “A More Perfect Union.” Fifteen grants, totaling $1,000,000, were awarded to museums for exhibitions, artist residencies, and other programs that extend their reach into diverse communities and make art a part of people’s lives. The grant to the Holter Museum was the only one made in the state of Montana.

The Holter Museum of Art’s “A More Perfect Union” will provide veterans, active military and their families opportunities to engage in visual arts activities and lessons with support from the community as a way to begin healing from the effects of war. Interactive workshops, storytelling programs, and hands-on art making activities will encourage new friendships, increased awareness of the value of art, and appreciation of the contributions museums make in life.

By developing collaborations between military and non-military parts of the community through this visual arts program, both family relationships and community spirit will be strengthened.

“MetLife Foundation has a long history of partnering with museums to support educational opportunities for people of all ages,” said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. “We are pleased to recognize the Holter Museum of Art for its innovative work and commitment to the Helena community to provide more opportunities for people to experience and understand our world in new ways.”

“Montanans have made great sacrifices and served our country proudly in the Iraq and Afghan wars,” said Carl Deitchman, executive director of the Holter Museum. “Everyone at the Holter is committed to giving back what we can in service and gratitude to our Vets, active military and their families. The visual arts can provide the means for reconnecting and healing through exhibitions, educational opportunities and special community events. We feel a duty to share what we have to offer with those who have given so much for us.”

The goal of this competitive grant program is to broaden arts programming and promote museums as centers of education without boundaries. Winners were selected on the basis of their potential to engage diverse populations in the arts, creativity and innovation, and commitment to community.

About the Holter Museum of Art

The Holter is a non-profit, free admission art museum serving 30,000 visitors and 7,500 students annually. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 to 5:30 p.m.; Sun 12 to 4 p.m. Call 442-6400 or visit www.holtermuseum.org to view schedule of exhibitions, become a Holter member, make a donation, or enroll in an art class.

About MetLife Foundation

MetLife Foundation was established by MetLife to continue the company’s long tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Grants are made to support health, educational, civic and cultural organizations and programs. The Foundation contributes to arts and cultural organizations, with an emphasis on increasing opportunities for young people, reaching broad audiences through inclusive programming, and making arts more accessible for all people. For more information, please visit www.metlife.org.

Yvonne Seng: Holter Museum’s New Curator of Art

Carl Deitchman, Executive Director of the Holter Museum of Art, is pleased to announce the appointment of Yvonne J. Seng as the Holter Museum ’s new Curator of Art. Seng has served as the interim curator since August 2009 filling the vacancy left by Liz Gans , who served as both executive director and curator of art.

“Yvonne Seng brings enormous energy, education, experience, and vision to this position,” says Deitchman. “The staff and board of the Holter Museum feel so fortunate to have Yvonne on the team. Already she has shown herself to be a quick study, a great collaborator, and an initiator of great ideas for future exhibitions. Her far-flung connections will allow her to tap outstanding exhibitions for the Holter Museum that may not otherwise be made available to our community.”

Seng, who has a doctorate in Islamic history from the University of Chicago, has worked as a professor of cultural history for more than nineteen years at institutions including Princeton, American University, Georgetown University and U.M.–Missoula. She has lectured around the world on Islamic art and textiles at institutions including the Center for Creative Leadership, the Foreign Service Institute, and the National Multi-Cultural Institute. Her wide-ranging work experience includes working on historical textiles at the Smithsonian institution, conserving seventh-century Spanish oil paintings, and working as an academic director for the PBS series, Islam: Past and Present. Her book, Men in Black Dresses: A Quest for the Future Among Wisdom Makers of the Middle East was published in 2003 by Simon & Schuster.

As the museum’s permanent curator of art, Seng will oversee Magic Carpets: Tribal Sofras from Turkey, which will open in the Sherman Gallery from January 19 to April 4. The exhibition will feature contemporary village carpets woven by women and will be accompanied by an Artists-in-Residence who will teach Turkish calligraphy and ebru (marblized paper), a Turkish Family Festival and public lectures, reception and workshops.

“I am inspired by the talent and energy of the professional staff at the Holter,” says Seng. “And I’m looking forward to working with the Museum’s outstanding collection. Montana is definitely a treasure state and artists are our most overlooked natural resource!”