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Greetings,
The Athenaeum will undergo renovation this summer as the air conditioning units from the 1975/76 restoration are replaced with high efficiency units which should save energy and lower the Athenaeum’s monthly electrical bills. Donations from Athenaeum Board members offset the cost of this necessary improvement, the second of the major and recent renovations needed in our National Historic Landmark building. As you remember, last year we remediated the south wall of the Athenaeum,
providing structural improvements necessary to stop movement in the wall. Please be aware that if the change of the HVAC units occurs during a particularly hot part of June, we may find it necessary to close for a day or two. Rest assured that we will attempt to minimize the closure, but some parts of the building do become extremely warm without air conditioning. We will send out an e-mail blast if this closing should become necessary.
Banner
Image: Rooftop HVAC condensers, 2007.
New Books for June
Blue
Star Museums
 The
Athenaeum is pleased to become one of more than 1,300 museums across America to offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer. Memorial Day launched Blue Star Museums, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families; the program runs through Labor Day 2011. Leadership support for this national program has been provided by the MetLife Foundation through Blue Star Families.
The complete list of participating museums is available at www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. The free admission program is available to active-duty military and their immediate family members (military ID holder and five immediate family members). Active duty military include Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and active duty National Guard and active duty Reserve members.
 Ruth Lonvick, a Museum Education graduate student from the University of the Arts, undertook a semester-long internship with the Athenaeum in order to provide new educational resources for the Athenaeum’s Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory
Network. Ms. Lonvick chose to focus on the Hexamer General Surveys, representing industrial sites in the Greater Philadelphia area from 1866 to 1896. She created Teachers’ Guides for grades 3 through 12, with downloadable exercises and links to relevant information. While concentrating on child labor because the Hexamers include information on the staff force (how many women, men, children, etc.), Ms. Lonvick also provides other suggested activities and additional resources for using the Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network in the classroom. Our thanks go out to the teachers who provided feedback for this new feature on the GPGN. Follow this link to explore and learn:
GPGN
Educational
Resources
Art
Bound Online Exhibition Review
 The
online presentation of the Athenaeum's 2008 exhibition "Art Bound" was
recently reviewed by Drexel's Cultural Passport website.
You
can read the review here, or take a look at the Art
Bound exhibition.
Artist
Spotlight: Perry Milou
Another in an ongoing series of profiles of artist customers of the Athenaeum’s Regional Digital Imaging Center (RDIC)
 American Pop Artist Perry Milou has been a customer of the RDIC since 2007, making use of both our scanning and printing services. ''The Athenaeum offers incredible one stop shopping for any professional artist seeking to reproduce and print their original art. Simply put, their talented staff will have you falling in love with the Cruse Scanner and amazing printing services.''
Perry’s passion for art began in the first grade when he demonstrated skills that were well beyond his years
during a class project to create a mural. He impressed everyone with his natural
gift and knew at that point that he wanted to pursue art as his career.
Perry’s blend of pop culture and contemporary art has been described as brilliant, fresh, and glamorous, and is often a tribute to pop icons, athletes and celebrities. His hybrid style draws on the influence of artists from Vincent Van Gogh to Andy Warhol. “My aesthetic today is about fantasy. The work is bold, exciting, and graphic with vibrant colors. I want my work to evoke an aura of beautiful feelings.”
 Perry has recently opened Palette Kids Inc., a fine art studio
on Rittenhouse Square for children five and up, to further his lifelong dream of inspiring young artists. The mission of Palette Kids is to encourage children to explore drawing, painting and sculpture and to develop fundamental skills in fine art. The studio’s curriculum includes the study of color theory, design, composition and experimental techniques. This spring and summer, participants in Perry’s classes can bring a friend for free!
Check out Perry’s websites for more information and examples of his work.
Palette Kids was also featured on
Fox 29.
www.palettekids.com
www.perrymilou.com
Top:
Palette Kids Studio.
Bottom: Palette Kids logo.
Guild
of Book Workers Exhibition
 Just
a reminder that the Guild of Book Workers exhibition,
“Philadelphia Artists’ Books Travel to Venice,” opens this Friday night at
5:00pm. The Athenaeum will be open until 7:00pm for First Friday.
Athenaeum of Philadelphia
June 3 - 30, 2011
Opening: June 3, 5-7 pm
Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Venice, Italy
October 5 - 28, 2011
Above: "Dear Thomas
Ingmire"
by Dan Corrigan.
Save
the Date:
June
3: Guild of Book Workers Exhibition Opening, 5-7pm
June
4: First Saturday, Athenaeum open, 10:00am-2:00pm
See
the Event
Calendar for details and additional
events.
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