Werth Family Foundation Supports Housatonic Museum of Art@Housatonic Community College
February 4, 2016
For immediate release
Contact: Robbin Zella 203-332-5052
Bridgeport, CT--The Werth Family Foundation has awarded $55,000 to benefit the Housatonic Museum of Art (HMA). This commitment will allow the Museum to continue its conservation efforts, a key element in maintaining the integrity of this important art collection. The gift also ensures the continuation of the Peer Docent Program and will provide for a Museum Curator/Collections Manager. It will also support special exhibits. All activities of the Museum are open to the public at no charge.
The Werth Family Foundation has enabled the museum to bring important exhibits to the region including David Hayes: Modern Master of American Abstraction featuring drawings and sculptures by the Connecticut sculptorand the upcoming show by internationally acclaimed Magnum photographer, Steve McCurry. In addition the HMA presented Larry Silver: Then and Now comprised of works by the renowned Westport artist and, finally, the celebratory exhibition, 50 Objects/50 Years, that highlighted fifty of the most important works in the collection as well as marking the anniversary of the HMA.
Funds were also leveraged dollar for dollar with the Fairfield County Community Foundation to fund the Peer Docent Program. The HMA’s educational outreach program, now in its 15th year, introduces middle and high school students to art, architecture and art history and teaches them how to look critically at art, equipping them with the visual and analytical skills that will assist them in all areas of study. In addition to learning the history of architecture, students visit other sites with such iconic buildings as The Glass House in New Caanan and the Chrysler, Seagram and Empire State buildings in New York City. At the end of the program, the students share what they have learned with their classmates who come to Housatonic for architecture tours of downtown Bridgeport given by the docents.
The Housatonic Community College Foundation was formed in 1990 to assist the College and its students beyond the fundamentals provided by the state. The Foundation provides resources for scholarships, equipment, program enhancements, community outreach and support for the Housatonic Museum of Art.
For more information about the Museum visit www.HousatonicMuseum.org