Festival of Trees at Owensboro Museum of Fine Art

Festival of Trees at Owensboro Museum of Fine Art 

 Multiple celebrations will be unveiled with the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art’s HOLIDAY FOREST GALA scheduled Saturday, November 9, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art.  One of Owensboro’s oldest holiday traditions, the HOLIDAY FOREST FESTIVAL OF TREES, now in its 46th year, is sponsored continuously by The Glenmore Distillery and will interpret the exhibition A GALAXY OF GLASS. Highlights of the evening will feature a celebration of the conclusion to the museum’s CAMPAIGN FOR THE FUTURE which raised $2.3 million dollars to refurbish the museum’s historically important facility and establish an operations endowment. The festival features two exhibitions, including THE FOREST OF TREES, 19 monumental Christmas trees that interpret the exhibition A GALAXY OF GLASS. Contributors of trees include the Owensboro Herb Society, St. Stephen Cathedral, and the Woven Together in Western Kentucky Basket Guild.  A special feature of THE FOREST OF TREES is a showcase of designs by Gary Tunget, who created decorations for the galleries of the Medley Decorative Arts Wing.  His exhibits include trees complementing the era of the historic structure, one of Owensboro’s finest examples of Greek Revival architecture, built in 1859. A GALAXY OF GLASS is the result of a partnership with Guest Curator, Owensboro native Brook Forrest White, Jr., a well-known Kentucky glass maker and owner of Flame Run Gallery in Louisville. White and Flame Run produce a range of works from individual glass vessels to large installations. White was a student and protégé of the internationally recognized glass maker, the late Stephen Rolfe Powell (1950-2019). Complementing this exhibition of some of the most accomplished glass makers in the Midwest will be excerpts from the museum’s collection of more than 300 works of art in a wide variety of glass making techniques including blown, cast, etched, slumped and carved objects dating from the mid-19th c. to the present by major American and European artists. The OMFA is also pleased to have partnered with Duncan McClellan Gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida, the premier Studio Art Glass Gallery in the southeastern United States, to exhibit a collection of Powell’s works. The highlight of this reception will be the recognition of contributors to the recently completed capital campaign. The Owensboro Museum of Fine Art Foundation recently completed a $2.3 million CAMPAIGN FOR THE FUTURE. The campaign was designed to support operations, re-establish an endowment, and restore its historic physical plant. As a result of this campaign, the museum established the $1M Dr. R. Wathen Medley, Jr. and Jeanette Napier Medley Endowment Fund intended to insure future operating funds. The OMFA invites the community to celebrate the corporate, private and civic partners that were instrumental in helping to achieve its goals with phenomenal results. A highlight of the evening will be an unveiling of a Donor Acknowledgement Wall, the naming of designated galleries to honor especially significant contributions, and the opening of the new Jack T. Wells Entrance to the museum galleries from Frederica Street. The gala will feature holiday cuisine and entertainment by the Louisville Jazz Trio. Admission is $50 per person, discounted to $40 for subscribers to the OMFA Friends of the Foundation.  Reservations may be made by contacting the museum at 270-685-3181 or info@omfa.us, and visiting its website at omfa.us. The HOLIDAY FOREST FESTIVAL OF TREES will remain on view through December 31 and general admission, beginning Sunday, November 12, is $3.00 for adults and $2.00 for children.   A special activity for children during the six-week holiday exhibition will be free art instruction in the museum’s interactive art studio, ARTLAND, where they will create holiday take-home decorations.  ARTLAND, sponsored by the Michael E. Horn Family Foundation, is presented free to the public during regular museum hours. The Owensboro Museum of Fine Art is located at 9th and Frederica streets and is open Tuesday through Friday, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.  For more information, call 270-685-3l8l or visit the museum’s website at omfa.us or follow us on Facebook.

For more information, phone 270-685-3181 or visit the museum's website omfa.us or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.