A blogging world

We are learning more and more everyday that PR is using the world of blogging, twitter, and facebook to reach their audience. In fact, an article in the NYTimes intimated that press releases are quickly becoming a thing of the past....what?

This basically goes against the foundational teachings of PR 101. Well, we are determined to keep up. Therefore, my job today consists of researching blogs that would be interested in the BMA....reading blogs all day long? Could my Friday possibly be more perfect?:)

Art therapy

Last week I was able to attend my first Museum staff meeting.

One of the women who works in the Museum's education department told a story about a little girl in Children's Hospital who had recently undergone brain surgery. The BMA was holding a two-week art camp in the wing of the hospital that held children recovering from major surgery. This little girl, around five years of age had not spoken a word for two weeks, since before she had her surgery. With a paintbrush in hand and the BMA education staff surrounding her with love and energy, this little girl began laughing and talking uncontrollably for the first time in two weeks.

What a testament to the impact of artwork...even when it's as simple as a set of watercolors.

We all scream for ice cream.

The second Art on the Rocks is on Friday (I can’t believe it’s already time for another one!) so I helped Andi and Brynne, who are in charge of the event, tie up some loose ends for the party yesterday.

I am learning all kinds of new event-planning terms…for instance, Comp tickets? Well, let me explain. We printed out dozens of these tickets today to deliver to Art on the Rocks sponsors and various media companies.

Since I normally work upstairs in the administrative offices, I miss the daily lunch gathering of the curators, education department, and museum membership committee. But yesterday, I was able to eat my coffee yogurt and banana amongst a lively discussion of ice cream flavors, since I was working with Andi on a project.

Apparently, the first floor has started an ice cream social tradition at lunch on Thursdays. It was Brynne’s turn this week. After pondering every flavor from root beer to ambrosia (gross) to brown sugar, Brynne finally decided on mint ice cream with Oreo cookies.

Too bad I don’t intern on Thursdays.

Anyway, Art on the Rocks is Friday at 5 p.m. Ben Lee starts at 8 p.m.

Oh so proud...

Due to the fact that I have lived in Birmingham for over 18 years now, I tend to sometimes take our beautiful city for granted. After three luxurious reads of Charles Gaines' Garden and Gun article, "The Big Heart of Birmingham," I have been kindly reminded of the accomplishments and strides our city has taken since the turbulent decade of the 60's so many people couple with the name Birmingham.

Steeped in history and bursting at the seams with a vivacious and growing music scene, this city boasts over 50 art galleries, more green space per capita than any other city in the country (my fun fact of the day, thank you Charles), a magnificent ballet company, a renowned symphony orchestra, five live-performance theaters, a football culture that divides close-knit households, and an array of world-class restaurants that have Frank Stitt's name all over them. Charles Gaines even gave the museum a shout out:

"We now have one of the finest art museums in the country (with a permanent collection, by the way, twice the size of Atlanta’s)."

So, thank you Mr. Gaines for doing our little city proud and reminding me, even after a weekend jaunt to Nashville, just why this city's heartbeat continues to pulse in my veins.

http://gardenandgun.com/article/big-heart-birmingham

Lunch in the park--GG style?

Mary Katherine, don't you think these NYC girls could pass for us?...at least I was sporting a headband today:)

So one of my goals this summer was to become a downtown Birmingham aficionado. During high school, my stomping grounds included a total radius of about five miles consisting of school, my house, my friends' houses, Starbucks, and Panera Bread. In college, my stomping grounds have considerably widened to include Homewood, Mountain Brook, and the occasional venture downtown. But it was always inevitable that my downtown excursions would always end up a lot longer than planned...why, you may ask?

I get lost every time I try to come downtown....this from a girl who plans to live in a city much bigger than Birmingham.

Today, Mary Katherine met me for lunch in Linn Park which is right across the street from the museum. It was beautiful outside and I could close my eyes and pretend we were lunching in Central Park surrounded by the bustling city....maybe one day...

All of this to say, that I have only gotten lost downtown twice this past week--improvement, wouldn't you say?

The history of history

I have been entering an endless number of museum events onto Active Culture and the APR websites. I feel like a machine spitting out dates and times and event descriptions within a matter of seconds.

So, suffice to say that I have become rather familiar with the goings-on at the museum this summer. I just emailed my friend to share this particular event I am very excited about, I might have to see if I can get out of my babysitting job this day in order to enlighten myself on the history of fashion:)

Art & Conversation on July 2: "The Allure of Fashion." Connoisseur extraordinaire of everything from art to politics during his long reign as king of France, Louis XIV said of fashion…“{it is} the history of history.” Docent Joyce Benington gives us a historical perspective on fashion as represented in selected paintings from the Museum’s European and American collections.

A history lesson with fashion tips in the mix? Count me in.

Oh, and my NYTimes article of the day fits in rather nicely in terms of fashion and art colliding: check it out.

Post party musings...

So Friday night was the night of the kick off for Art on the Rocks Summer 2009. The party was fabulous! When I wasn't helping Andi man one of the entrances I made it my goal to be outside as much as possible where the band played and where the art activity took place.

I also found myself lingering around the MyScoop table and their red carpet, soaking up the laid back yet perfectly put-together southern fashion styles. The website's representatives took pictures throughout the night of guests' outfits on red carpet to feature on their site's "Best Dressed" section.

My best friend and I fell in love with the band, Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles. Couples danced the night away to the the rock songs that favored a bluegrass twist.

Here are some pictures I snapped throughout the night.