Join OOMA’s #GivingTuesday Campaign to Support Art Education

Giving Tuesday falls on December 3rd this year. We’ve started our donor campaign on Facebook. You can also call us at 228-374-5547, come visit us or click here to donate now. OOMA was awarded the 2019 PRISM Award for Excellence in Art Education by the Mississippi Art Education Association on Friday, November 8th. Being named as an award-winning educational institution inspires us to continue our goals to strengthen the programs that we offer. Your donation can create an amazing impact on one creative child! Whether you give 5.00 or 500.00 every dollar you give will help fund need-based scholarships for young artists who will attend OOMA’s Summer Art Camp.

HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR GIVING:

  • Starting at 7am CST on December 3rd, Facebook will be matching donations until they’ve given $7M, so get up and donate on #GivingTuesday!
  • CREATE your own fundraiser in support of OOMA (donations to your fundraiser in the above time period will also be matched!). See below for a suggested narrative for your fundraiser.
  • SHARE our Facebook fundraiser with your friends.
  • TAG friends in the Facebook comment section that you think would be interested in supporting the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art.
  • FORWARD this email to those that may be interested in supporting our educational mission.
If you’d like to start your own fundraiser but don’t know what to say, copy and paste from below:Hey friends! I’ve chosen to support The Ohr O’Keefe Museum of Art for my #GivingTuesday fundraiser this year. OOMA has supported art education on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for years and I’d love it if you would choose to support them with me. Any amount helps and donations made after 7 am CST on December 3rd will be matched by Facebook! Thank you for anything you can give!

Thank you for supporting OOMA!

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Five Senses of Ohr Newsletter Purple Edition: Sandra Halat [3 more days! Get tickets NOW!]

THE FIVE SENSES OF OHR: A PARTY FOR YOUR SENSES

Friday, November 15, 2019, from 6 – 9 pm.

Come experience all of the senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—through the lens of local artists and artisans. Guests are encouraged to dress in the style of their favorite artist, think Andy Warhol, artwork, etc. from the Pop art movement.

The IP Casino Resort Spa will be an explosion of color and light on Friday, November 15th from 6 – 9 pm. Artists are in focus and your senses are a blur! The Pop art-themed party will feature eleven local artists, each working within decor and lighting that will be drenched in the color of their choosing. The artist’s work will be auctioned off at the end of the night, with part of the auction amount going to the artist directly and part going to support OOMA’s educational programs! Our entertainment for the night will be local jazz masters Sicily Swing!

Reserve your tickets today and let’s get those senses poppin’!

Click for Tickets

 

Purple Edition: Sandra Halat

Sandra Halat Portrait  Sandra Halat Painting "Girl on a Couch"

“My work is derived from a variety of subject matter through the use of mixed media, drawing, and printmaking. The use of color and mark-making in my work comes from life experience, symbolism, short stories, and mythology. My favorite subject matter is the human figure. In the words of Degas, ‘Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.'”

Sandra Halat earned her MFA and BFA in Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking from the University of North Carolina. She also studied at the Vermont Studio Center, Arrowmont Arts & Craft, and the University of Tennessee. She taught at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College,  and served as Adjunct Professor at both High Point University NC and The University of North Carolina Greensboro.

She has been awarded 2013 Instructor of the Year at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, the Phi Theta Kappa Regional Hallmark Most Distinguished Alumnus Award, a National Endowment for the Humanities Scholarship, Visiting Artist Scholarship Vermont Studio Center, and numerous awards over the years in various art competitions. You can find her work at the Pink Rooster Fine Art Gallery and The Art House in Ocean Springs, MS, The Attic Gallery in Vicksburg, MS, and Negrotto’s Gallery in Gulfport, MS. Her work can be found in collections at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and she painted the mural in the performing arts room at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center.

Find Sandra in purple along with ten other artists at The Five Senses of Ohr fall fundraiser for the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art. She’ll be creating a piece to be auctioned off at the end of the night with proceeds going to benefit both the artist and the museum!

Click for Tickets
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Free Open House for Art in Mind this Thursday Seeks to Help Those Affected by Alzheimer’s Disease

The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art is hosting a free information session about Art in Mind, a program that uses art creation and appreciation of art to encourage social connections between members of the aging community, early-stage Alzheimer’s patients, and their caregivers.

The Art in Mind program started in 2014, inspired by the Meet Me at MoMA program, and it is getting a fresh start in 2020. This program uses the museum space to hold social interactions between people in the aging community.

Studies have shown that cognitive engagement in creative exercises boosts well-being and improves health. Art in Mind’s goal is to contribute to the health of the South Mississippi community and to establish an ongoing vital program to maximize the access and the use to the Museum space and services.

Join us in the effort of improving the lives of South Mississippians who live with Alzheimer’s disease, learn about the benefits of art in mental health, make connections with mental health organizations and the Gulf Coast community, and find out how you can benefit from the Art in Mind program.

A panel discussion entitled Aging Creatively: the Benefits of Art in Well-being and Community Shaping will also take place during the event. In this panel, we will discuss the benefits of art in creating well-being for senior citizens, with a special focus on individuals living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Panel Participants:
  • Anne Marie Collins is an Art Therapist based in Pensacola, FL. Anne is an artist and the owner of Madewell Art Studio.
  • Rene Serpe was married to Rich, and they were two of our first and most passionate participants in the program as well as docents at the museum since its opening. Before becoming affected by Alzheimer’s Disease and passing about a year ago, Rich was the Master Coffee Roaster at Roaster Bean for many years. Rene was present with Rich for every Art in Mind class that they could attend since the program’s inception in 2014.
  • Angel Fox – Memory Care Program Director at Bay Cove – Angel is a certified professional who leads the Dementia Capable Care program at Bay Cove. Her work is characterized by her compassion and dedication to Biloxi’s senior community.
  • Cathy Sando – Activities Director, Bay Cove Assisted Living – Cathy has worked as an LPN for 22 years in numerous healthcare settings before becoming an Activities Director in 2002. Cathy works diligently to provide activities that fit each resident’s unique physical and social needs.
  • Kathy Bristol – Kathy is an Art Educator and life-long volunteer at the Ohr O’Keefe Museum. Kathy has been involved with the Art in Mind program since 2017 and has first-hand experience of the benefits it has on senior citizens.
Thanks to The Blake Senior Living, Brookdale Senior Living, Walmart, and the Alzheimer Association for partnering with us to bring you this event.
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Five Senses of Ohr Newsletter Hearing Edition: Rolling Stones Guitar up for Auction and the Sounds of Sicily Swing

THE FIVE SENSES OF OHR: A PARTY FOR YOUR SENSES

Friday, November 15, 2019, from 6 – 9 pm.

Come experience all of the senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—through the lens of local artists and artisans. Guests are encouraged to dress in the style of their favorite artist, think Andy Warhol, artwork, etc. from the Pop art movement.

The IP Casino Resort Spa will be an explosion of color and light on Friday, November 15th from 6 – 9 pm. Artists are in focus and your senses are a blur! The Pop art-themed party will feature twelve local artists, each working within decor and lighting that will be drenched in the color of their choosing. The artist’s work will be auctioned off at the end of the night, with part of the auction amount going to the artist directly and part going to support OOMA’s educational programs!  Entertainment by Sicily Swing.

Reserve your tickets today and let’s get those senses poppin’!

Click for Tickets

Hearing Edition: Rolling Stones Signed Guitar and Sicily Swing

Close shot of all 5 Rolling Stones signatures on Squier Bullet

OOMA recently received a Squier Bullet Stratocaster signed by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones! This will be just one of the items that will be auctioned off in our silent auction at the Five Senses of Ohr: A Party for Your Senses at the IP Casino on November 15th from 6-9 pm.

The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them fourth on the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” list, and their estimated album sales are above 250 million.

This guitar has undergone a detailed forensic examination and has been authenticated by an independent law enforcement authentication firm. It comes with a certificate of authenticity and matching numbered counterfeit-proof authentication holograms.

Get your tickets today and don’t miss your chance to bid on this awesome item!

The Five Senses of Ohr: A Party for Your Senses promises to be one of the year’s biggest fundraisers for the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art and we’re happy to have Sicily Swing coming to entertain us yet again! If you’re a frequent visitor to OOMA’s events, then you know how good this will be. They have been our entertainment for many other events, most recently joining the lineup for Ohr Fest 2019 back at the beginning of October. Sicily Swing will be bringing out feel-good oldies with a New Orleans flare of jazz, swing & R&B that you don’t want to miss!

Click for Tickets

 

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Five Senses of Ohr Newsletter Yellow Edition: Paulette Dove

THE FIVE SENSES OF OHR: A PARTY FOR YOUR SENSES

Friday, November 15, 2019, from 6 – 9 pm.

Come experience all of the senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—through the lens of local artists and artisans. Guests are encouraged to dress in the style of their favorite artist, think Andy Warhol, artwork, etc. from the Pop art movement.

The IP Casino Resort Spa will be an explosion of color and light on Friday, November 15th from 6 – 9 pm. Artists are in focus and your senses are a blur! The Pop art-themed party will feature twelve local artists, each working within decor and lighting that will be drenched in the color of their choosing. The artist’s work will be auctioned off at the end of the night, with part of the auction amount going to the artist directly and part going to support OOMA’s educational programs!  Entertainment by Sicily Swing.

Reserve your tickets today and let’s get those senses poppin’!

Click for Tickets

 

Yellow Edition: Paulette Dove

“…Pattern and texture found in my work is meant to evoke images and thought of untold stories. I paint, literally and figuratively, from past experiences using symbols as central figures to create a common language.”

Paulette Dove is a native Biloxian and has been painting and exhibiting on the gulf coast for many years. She is a member of the Ocean Springs Art Association, the Singing River Art Association, President of the South Mississippi Art League, and board member of Mississippi Art Colony. Her work has been displayed throughout the South.

Paulette received her B.F.A. and M.Ed. from Miss. University for Women and William Carey College. Her education included “Water Media Encounter at Louisiana Tech University, Savannah School of Art and Design, Mary Todd Beam workshop at the Bascom Museum in Highland, N.C. She has taught many years in Biloxi, West Virginia, and Mississippi Gulf Coast College. Paulette has also served as an educator at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art and the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in the past.

Paulette prefers to work mostly in acrylic, mixed media, and pottery. She currently works from her “Side Door Studio” in Biloxi, MS.

Find Paulette in yellow along with ten other artists at The Five Senses of Ohr fall fundraiser for the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art. She’ll be creating a piece to be auctioned off at the end of the night with proceeds going to benefit both the artist and the museum!

Click for Tickets
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Five Senses of Ohr Newsletter Red Edition: Carmen Lugo

THE FIVE SENSES OF OHR: A PARTY FOR YOUR SENSES

Come experience all of the senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—through the lens of local artists and artisans. Guests are encouraged to dress in the style of their favorite artist, think Andy Warhol, artwork, etc. from the Pop art movement.

The IP Casino Resort Spa will be an explosion of color and light on Friday, November 15th from 6 – 9 pm. Artists are in focus and your senses are a blur! The Pop art-themed party will feature twelve local artists, each working within decor and lighting that will be drenched in the color of their choosing. The artist’s work will be auctioned off at the end of the night, with part of the auction amount going to the artist directly and part going to support OOMA’s educational programs!  Entertainment by Sicily Swing.

Reserve your tickets today and let’s get those senses poppin’!

Click for Tickets

RED EDITION: CARMEN LUGO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carmen Lugo is a visual artist who works in mixed media, acrylic, and encaustic. A “mark maker” by nature, Carmen’s work often contains bold lines, scratched and obscured words, and a stream-of-consciousness style of painting. An appreciation of all things fleeting and discarded and her gravitation towards evocative color and imagery results in work that often contains themes on impermanence, nature, human nature, and emotion. She equates her process to an “emotional sieve,” sifting through impressions and imagery in the world around her, translating them to canvas.

Carmen currently teaches art classes to teens and children at the Mary C O’Keefe Cultural Center for Arts and Education and is a member of the South Mississippi Art League, Mississippi Art Colony, and Local Creatives. When not painting, Carmen enjoys collecting insects, rearing silk moths, hiking, and being alone in nature. She currently lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with her husband, Vincent, and her two cats, Lola and Penny Lane.

Click for Tickets
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Free Admission on Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day

The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art will open its doors free of charge to all Museum Day ticket holders on Saturday, September 21, 2019, as part of Smithsonian magazine’s 15th annual Museum Day, a national celebration of boundless curiosity in which participating museums emulate the free admission policy at the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington D.C.-based museums.

Museum Day represents a nationwide commitment to access, equity and inclusion. Over 450,000 tickets were downloaded for last year’s event, and Museum Day 2019 is expected to attract more museumgoers than ever before.

This year, Museum Day will celebrate the Smithsonian Year of Music, an institution-wide initiative celebrating the Smithsonian’s vast musical collections and resources through 365 days of music-related programming. Music is not only a reflection of human creativity and innovation but also a key method of communication and cross-cultural exchange and understanding. The Smithsonian Year of Music crosses disciplines, bringing together music-related resources in art, history, culture, science, and education.

Get your ticket here!

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Ohr Fest Video Premiere Unveils Limited VIP Beer Stein

Ohr Fest 2019 is fast approaching! Admission is free but those participating in the beer tasting will need to purchase a wristband. With a wristband, donors receive unlimited 3 oz. taster pours. VIP level wristbands also come with our annual limited-edition beer stein made right here in our City of Biloxi Center for Ceramics by Ceramics Director Charlie Mabry. VIP purchasers will also enjoy three full pours of beers of their choice during the festival along with their taster pours. The limited-edition beer steins can be seen in the new Ohr Fest promotional video below.

The festival will offer a diverse array of arts and craft vendors, craft beer tents, a homebrewers’ competition, live music, a ceramics throw-down between the coast’s finest potters, a whacky ceramics-based performance by the Mad Potter of Bay St. Louis Steve Barney, and some of the Southeast’s most sought after food trucks—all on the beautiful Biloxi Town Green.

The cost of admission is free, but access to the beer tents will require purchasing an armband:

General Admission armbands: $35
Buyers will receive unlimited 3 oz. beer pours.

VIP armbands: $60
Buyers will receive a commemorative ceramic beer stein(a $40 value)
Three full 16 oz. pours.
Unlimited 3 oz. pours.

*Only 100 VIP armbands will be available for purchase.

This year’s festival thanks Premier sponsors TD Ameritrade and the City of Biloxi. Support also provided by Coca-Cola, F.E.B. Distributing, The Harrison County Board of Supervisors, Lazy Magnolia Brewery, The Mississippi Arts Commission, Mitchell Distributing, and Yeastie Beastie Homebrew Supplies. Contact community@georgeohr.org to get involved as a vendor or sponsor.

Get your wristbands now and join us on the Biloxi Town Green on October 5th from 11 am to 8 pm!

 

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John McDonald Digital Mural on View at OOMA

The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art is proud to announce that Gulfport-native painter John McDonald’s 12’ x 6’ digital painting “Shore Birds” is now on view in the Mississippi Sound Welcome Center.

“Shore Birds” is the result of more than 10 years of work that serves to highlight the roots of painting as a process rather than relying on the power behind Photoshop to produce a digital painting. McDonald began the work on canvas and transferred the work to digital via a 6-step process which he will discuss at OOMA’s next opening reception for new exhibits on September 26th from 5 to 7:30 pm. The artist will speak at 6 pm.

John McDonald was born in Bay St. Louis and received his BFA from The University of Georgia in 1976. He received his MFA from Yale University in 1978. McDonald went on to work in art preparation and handling for the Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum of Art, The Rothko Art Foundation, The Dia Art Foundation, and Pace Gallery in New York before returning to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1985. Throughout his career as a working artist, he has won a long list of grants and awards including the Ford Foundation Grant, Southern Arts Federation Grant, the Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, and more. His work can be found in the Mississippi Museum of Art, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, and seen at Heriad-Cimino Gallery, and The Painting Center, New York.

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“The World Through My Eyes” Program Receives Funding, Brings Student Work to Museum

The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art has received a grant from Wells Fargo to continue a new program that promotes art literacy in South Mississippi schools.

 

“The World Through My Eyes” began this year as a collaborative project between the museum and school districts in Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties in South Mississippi. It brings professional artists into a participating classroom to guide the creation of student artwork and then installs student artwork as a three-month exhibit at the museum.

 

The goal of “The World Through My Eyes” is to expose school children to the arts and invite them to the museum through experiential art education. The program is open to classrooms from kindergarten through 12th grades and gives teachers and students the tools to connect fields of study to the arts.

 

Funding from Wells Fargo allows this program to expand and benefit more students around the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This grant will help to cover the costs of art supplies, artist compensation and installation for the exhibit.

 

During the first collaboration, artists Rebecca Alston and Allison Stewart worked with 20 fourth- and fifth-grade gifted students from West Wortham Elementary and Middle School. The artists and students created work that explored the importance of protecting and valuing their local environment on land and in the sea.

 

The first exhibit for “The World Through My Eyes” opened May 17 and remains on view.

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