IMAS 2014-2015 Annual Report

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CONTENTS TABLE OF

INTERNATIONAL Museum

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Art

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By The Numbers

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Science

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Donors

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A LETTER TO

OUR COMMUNITY June 2016 Dear IMAS Friends, 2014/2015 was a year of transition for the International Museum of Art and Science (IMAS), beginning with the introduction of a permanent President - Julie Johnson - in January 2015. Along with the Board of Director’s robust knowledge of art and science in McAllen, Julie’s 28+ years of education and museum administration expertise became the brushes needed with our palette to begin a new picture of the museum. As you’ll read in this report, brushstrokes at IMAS have begun.

For example, we expanded our reach to millions of museum members by joining the Association of Science and Technology Centers and the Smithsonian Affiliates reciprocal programs. IMAS is now a top-of-mind destination, plus our members can explore more than 300 science and technology centers around the world.

IMAS welcomed new audiences to the museum with the introduction of boy/girl scout workshops, homeschool classes for grades 1st -12th and summer camps for pre-school and kindergarten kids.

Our art exhibitions enthralled visitors with unique international delights as small as pins and as large as totem poles.

Through art, IMAS tricked our minds with light, triggered emotions and awarded local artists who showed us the flavor of the RGV. The “S” of our name began its transformation this year. In addition to creating new science programming for select groups, we introduced special science exhibits as a regular offering. Our current science galleries were remodeled, including a $25,000 upgrade to Science on a Sphere® – a visitor favorite!

Yes, it’s an exciting time for IMAS. We’ll be sharing more news soon, including a strategic plan for the next 10 years.

Thank you for helping to position us as one of the most sought-after, cultural institutions in Texas for many years to come.

Sincerely,

Julie Johnson President

Laura Warren Ogletree Chairman of the Board of Trustees 2015-2016

INTERNATIONAL What makes IMAS International? The answer is simple: It’s our ability to offer worldwide cultural exploration and experiences to visitors.

OUR WORLDLY PERMANENT COLLECTION European paintings from the 16th to the 19th century, Danish landscapes, exquisite Japanese prints, lithographs

by Pablo Picasso, art collected from Northern Tamaulipas, Mexico as well as a worldwide geological collection and folk art representing cultures from Mexico, Africa, and Asia are just a few examples of 8,000+ works and artifacts in our permanent collection. And, although IMAS’

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Game of Artifice by Ran Hwang (South Korea/New York) February 17 - June 25, 2015

acquired works outweigh the museum’s physical gallery space to be on permanent display, community spaces such as the McAllen Public Library allow us to showcase collections on a rotating basis as part of IMAS’ mission to promote a deeper appreciation of the arts and sciences.

A NEW ACQUISITION IMAS hosted the Fourth Mexican Shinzaburo Takeda Biennial of Printmaking April 30 – August 30, 2015 as the first United States venue to ever show this art. With 325 graphic artists participating from all over Mexico, 470 entries received, 48 works selected, six winners and six special

mentions, the exhibition is one of the leading Biennials of Graphic Arts in Mexico and Latin America. This annual showcase began in 2008 through the efforts of a group of artists from Oaxaca, Mexico and Japanese printmaker and Maestro Shinzaburo Takeda with the mission to create a forum for fostering the creation of new artistic works and showcasing the traditional techniques of printmaking.

The Biennial at IMAS was a consolidation of their efforts over the past nine years. As a thank you, Takeda donated a 30” x 25”untitled print to IMAS’ permanent collection. See this acquisition on page 11.

GLOBAL ARTISTS AND EXHIBITIONS Additionally, the museum kicked off its first Artist in Residency Program with South Korean artist Ran Hwang in February 2015. Along with the assistance of local artists, professors and art students, the artist unveiled Game of Artifice - an 84’x12’ installation constructed from thread, paper buttons, beads, crystals, pins, plexiglas, and plastics over the course of 19 days. Hwang’s work invited imaginations to run wild conveying the pricelessness of a transient moment with the creation of an iconic image.

Other 2015 international exhibitions included the haunting Human Expressions paintings by Peruvian artist Alfredo Alcade, which allowed viewers to ponder life concerns such as solitude, temptation and impending death in the peaceful ambiance of IMAS’ Clark gallery; Thresholds: Retrospective by Gerardo Nigenda - a Mexican artist who lost his sight at age 25 and began taking photographs at age 32 as reflections of his other senses; and the installation of The Faaka Tiki/ Kibii man/ Totem by Surinamese artist Marcel Pinas, which gave viewers a larger-than-life look into the Maroon culture.

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EXPLORE AND INSPIRE

Human Expressions by Alfredo Alcalde (Peru) January 29 – April 19, 2015

Thresholds: Retrospective by Gerardo Nigenda (Mexico) February 19 – June 7, 2015.

The Faaka Tiki/ Kibii man/ Totem by Marcel Pinas (Suriname) April 9, 2015 – January 13, 2016

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MUSEUM According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of ‘museum’ is a building in which interesting and valuable things (such as paintings and sculptures or scientific or historical objects) are collected and shown to the public. IMAS definitely fits this meaning, but we believe the definition stretches further. Museums should also be an inviting, learning experience for its community. Our mission is to create an environment that inspires, educates and entertains the public through the arts and sciences.

One of our best examples is IMAS’ Cultural Series Program.

Through the support of the IMAS Guild and many other community partners (please see our Donor section), the

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Many traditional activities such as face painting, paper mache art projects and sugar skull decorating, were part of IMAS’ two-day Dia De Los Muertos Festival.

series brings awareness of the cultures and customs found in the Rio Grande Valley and around the world.

Exceptional programming, exhibits with cultural artifacts and demonstrations, visitor and organization support make this program one of the most popular events for all ages and cultures in the region.

Exploring Customs with Art and Science First for 2014/2015, IMAS explored Mexican customs with the fourth annual Dia De Los Muertos Festival (Day of the Dead) in November. Activities, including face painting, paper mache and sugar skull decorating, and dance performances, helped visitors learn about this festive time of remembrance where families embellish the

tombs of deceased relatives and install memorial altars with special offerings laid out to call home the spirits of the dead.

The museum then introduced Hanukkah: Festival of Lights – its newest program – in December with a wide range of activities celebrating the Jewish holiday. Olive oil tastings, Hanukkah songs, Jewish games like spinning the dreidel, Israeli dancing featuring the Rikudim Group, and a holiday history talk with Rabbi Claudio Javier Kogan, MD, MBE, MED were part of the day.

Next, came our Lunar New Year cultural series program in February. This celebration comes from the start of the new lunisolar year, which is based on the year’s moon phases and used by most Asian countries. Typically, the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Tibetan and Vietnamese New Year occur on or near the same date and include a number of customs ranging from colorful dance exhibitions to storytelling to hanging calligraphy, charms and handwritten wishes for the year ahead. So, in keeping with tradition… that’s exactly what we did to celebrate the Year of the Goat and Rio Grande Valley’s Asian community. Guests made Peking masks, learned the ancient art of origami, calligraphy and watercolor painting, experienced a Chinese tea tasting and sampled an array of typical Asian New Year’s dishes. The event ended with a traditional Chinese dance exhibition and a museum-wide dragon blessing procession.

As spring fell upon Texas, IMAS organized its third annual Enchanting India Festival. Always popular, this day-long April program lets visitors experience the rich Indian culture with food sampling, a look at Indian languages (there are six!), traditional dancing, meditation under the moon, exploration of Rangoli folk art, henna art and jewelry making.

Yes! We know how to celebrate the word INTERNATIONAL of our name with SCIENCE and ART, but it’s IMAS’ community that makes us a MUSEUM.

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AN INSIDE LOOK

IMAS’ Lunar New Year celebration concluded with a dragon blessing - which is believed to bring luck and prosperity for the New Year.

Bollywood dancing and Indian-inspired fashion shows were part of many fascinating customs discovered during the Enchanting India Festival.

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ART

Concerned with the intellectual speculation we make regarding other cultures, especially primitive or ancient, anthropological perception is a key issue in Chadbourne’s work.

NATIONALLY IMAS darkened its Main gallery from October 16, 2014 to February 8, 2015 as an invitation to explore the perceptual phenomena of Cathy Cunningham-Little, a nationally heralded sculptor who expertly uses glass, light, shadow, cast reflections and color interactions to create incredible dissolutions of boundaries between substance and space.

Inspired by Constructivist prints from the museum’s permanent collection, Cunningham-Little’s The Geometry of Light exhibition featured six light installations of vivid

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and multi-faceted color compositions in space that beckoned visitors to explore the structural properties of light with self-illuminating studies in geometry and saturated hues. Upon first glance, her art appeared to be paintings, but were really nothing more than colored shadows or stained light.

Viewers engaged in a dialogue with her work as they experienced perceptual ambiguities, questioned the nature of perception and considered the expansion of their state of consciousness.

REGIONALLY Primal ingenuity abounded IMAS December 18, 2014 to April 12, 2015 with a major exhibition of 51 artworks, most newly created, by San Antonio sculptor Danville Chadbourne. Often likened to a body of cultural artifacts, both large and small-scale wood and ceramic sculptures, a series of suspended works, wall-oriented works in ink and acrylic on wood panel, and several large-scale outdoor sculptures in ceramic and stone were part of the exhibition.

The visual and ritual impact of Chadbourne’s beautiful objects, made more complex by their provocative, poetic and often paradoxical titles, allowed viewers to discover an artifact outside of our culture, while reflecting on a kind of universal human consciousness to ultimately stimulate the perception of our own personal existence.

LOCALLY In August of 2015, IMAS created a forum to showcase local talent and inspire budding artists by inviting the community to participate in a juried show Art Flavorings – Journey of Local Artists. More than 30 participants, of all ages, submitted 2D artwork for consideration.

45 pieces were chosen to highlight the “Flavor of the RGV” everything that gives the Rio Grande Valley its special flavor. The art was displayed at the museum’s Welcome Pavilion, August 10 - Oct. 17, 2015, and featured on the IMAS website and social media outlets.

Artwork encompassing the region’s natural landscape, animals, experiences, culture, food and people ranged from a digitally altered local myth image to a whimsical watercolor and ink bird strolling down the street to more traditional works such as a realistic charcoal drawing of horses along with an oil painting of a cowboy and his chickens.

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OUR BRUSH STROKES

Full color tones fill a central matrix in Shoo Fly by Cathy Cunningham-Little, while precisely angled beams/rays/strokes emanate from its core.

Chris Leonard won 1st Place with his painting Jimbird Juxtaposition for IMAS’ Art Flavorings: Journey of Local Artists Exhibition.

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BY THE NUMBERS $751,000

City of McAllen

$302,796

$200,170 Indiv/Bus Micellaneous

$91,277

School Tours

$83,416

$1,657,929 Revenue Total

Admissions

$73,052

Visitors of all ages enjoyed IMAS during our Family Fun Nights held every Thursday evening.

4,451 Guests went to special experiences at IMAS such as birthday parties, opening receptions and private facility rentals held by arts and science enthusiasts.

Gift Shop Sales

$39,111

Memberships

70,372 People of all ages explored arts and science at IMAS and through our outreach programs.

50,000 Square-feet of exhibit space comprised as connected Art and Science buildings

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Artifacts in folk art, fine art, decorative art, and a growing geological collection make up IMAS’ permanent collection. Learn about two new acquisitions to the right.

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Fundraising

$117,107

8,000

2,249 Children attended Operation Imagination Summer Camps, scout programs and/or homeschool activities.

1,160 Supporters enjoyed IMAS fundraising events including Brew-seum Craft Beer Week, COLLAGE and A Splash of Spring style show.

NEW ART ADDED TO THE MUSEUM’S PERMANENT COLLECTION Challenging the boundaries of contemporary photography, California-based artist Richard Slechta’s unique exhibition Inherent Trajectories drew audiences to IMAS from May 28 to Sept 13, 2015. The 23 richly luminescent chromogenic photograms looked at photography, light, the digital age and how they all work together to evoke power, drama and expansiveness. Enlightened by the artist’s slick and pristine images, IMAS added Pastoral State to its permanent collection following the exhibition.

Pastoral State by Richard Slechta Media: Chromogenic photogram Size: 30” H x 30” W Year: 2012

Donated by the artist Shinzaburo Takeda, IMAS added a hand-colored zincograph print - #17 in the series of 50 - to the museum’s permanent collection following the exhibition.

Now part of the museum’s permanent collection, this unique piece represents the traditional techniques used in printmaking along with Mexican art and life with a focus on the incredible print scene led by a rare mix of young and old talent from Oaxaca, Mexico – the Mecca for this art form.

Untitled by Shinzaburo Takeda Media: Zincograph Framed Size: 30” W x 25” H Year: 2015

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SCIENCE 2014/2015 was a landmark year of Science transition at IMAS. First, the Discovery Pavilion was updated to better connect our art and science buildings, and be seen as a premier STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Technology) resource. Fun artifacts from IMAS’ permanent collection were brought out, such as the installation of mammoth tusk and teeth, a sand shark jaw, great white shark teeth and a Megladon tooth to give visitors new, “jaw dropping” exploration. As we continue to grow, the museum’s full potential to show STEAM will now be more evident.

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Play among the stars and planets, observe the continents and Earth’s topography like never before, dive beneath the oceans, and more with the interactive, state-of-the-art exhibit Science on a Sphere.

NEW! SPECIAL EXHIBITS IN THE DISCOVERY PAVILION First IMAS introduced Kidstruction as the perfect experience for kids who love to tinker, build and create.

Packed with five “build zones”, LEGO lovers, S.T.E.M.stoked young scholars and SimCity addicts felt right at home. The 1,500-square-foot exhibit, developed by the museum, housed engaging building materials, including KEVA Planks (a wooden block building toy), K’NEX, and LEGOs – both standard and jumbo.

“Engineered” as a space for playful invention and creation, the experience appealed to all ages (particularly kids in preschool to grade 5).

Next, IMAS brought in an exhibit from Houston’s Space Center. The special exhibit 3,2,1…Blast Off! touched down in McAllen from June to September 2015 and included a replica of the space shuttle, space suits used in the Apollo missions, moon rocks, a space helmet, and other artifacts for visitors to experience the steps taken for Manned Space flight.

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NEW! SCIENCE ON A SPHERE DATA Just outside the Discovery Pavilion, IMAS’ most beloved exhibit - Science on a Sphere® (S.O.S.), also received a makeover. For those not familiar with it, think Google Earth projected onto a six-foot sphere, analogous to a giant animated globe. Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA developed S.O.S. as an educational tool to help illustrate Earth System science to people of all ages. And, thanks to our generous sponsors, IMAS’ S.O.S. can show 499 narrated movies, such as Plate Movement - 200 Million Years Ago to Today, The Story of El Nino, Deep-Sea Vent Locations and Solar Radiation.

Kidstruction encouraged creativity as kids became engineers with Lego bricks, KEVA Planks and K’NEX toys.

To educate as many visitors as possible, IMAS also took the initiative of translating four data sets from English to Spanish. These programs are now going to other museums throughout the country as well.

NEW! SCIENCE OUTREACH PROGRAMS Science discovery also grew beyond our museum’s walls. Some of the fresh programs included Live Animal Encounters with Magellan, Binky and Sabel the hedgehog along with exciting astronomy programs in our new portable planetarium. Used mainly for outreach activities, IMAS now brings the Digitalis inflatable dome to schools and festivals for all ages to explore astronomy-related subjects with full-dome shows like Two Pieces of Glass and Sun Struck.

Sabel the hedgehog travels throughout the Rio Grande Valley as part of IMAS’ Outreach team, and educates vistors in the Science Lab on her days off.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2014-2015 FISCAL YEAR Joe Habbouche Chairman

Laura Warren Ogletree Vice-Chairman John Pandos Treasurer

2014-2015 Board of Directors

Carlos Melguizo Secretary Eryn Wingert Beth Brown Juan Karlos Diaz Tom Woolsey Susan Fitzsimmons Jeri Clark Jerry Sanchez Mary La Mantia Roy Rodriguez Hector Guerra Marilyn Box

Legacy of Service Honorees - IMAS named Dr. Cayetano and Mrs. Yolanda Barrera as 2015 Collage Legacy of Service honorees in recognition of their never-ending spirit and hunger to serve our community.

Ex-Officio Board Jessica Johnson-Gutierrez Junior League Of McAllen President Elect Graciela Cobo IMAS Guild President Aladar Deutsch Past Chairman of the Board

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For the 7th year in a row, Clark Chevrolet and Clark Knapp Honda were A Night at the Brew-seum‘s Title Sponsors. Guests enjoyed the choice of 100+ beers to sample paired with delicious cuisine from local eateries as part of the museum’s signature fundraising event.

DONORS The International Museum of Art & Science is grateful for every donor’s support. This listing recognizes giving over $250 (contributed, pledged and in-kind) of individual, foundation and corpo…onors during our 2014-2015 fiscal year.

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and rely on the support of our community, private donors, corporate stakeholders and media partners.

Thank you for believing in our mission. $100,000 and above City of McAllen $25,000 - $99,000 HEB Tournament of Champions McAllen Public Utilities Board $15,000 - $24,999 L & F Distributors, LLC Mr. Arthur Hughes Mr. Bill Ranganath $7,500 - $14,999 AJ Transport BBVA Compass Bank Carats Jewels * Living * Gifts Charles Clark Chevrolet IMAS Guild Mr. & Mrs. Kirk Clark

$5,000 - $7,499 Clark Knapp Honda Deutsch & Deutsch Jewelers Johnson Controls Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert Torres Mr. & Mrs. John Pandos Mr. Arnulfo Garza Mr. Hector Guerra Rio Bank Security Service Federal Credit Union The Warren Group $2,000 - $4,999 Atlas, Hall & Rodriguez, LLP Corporate Solutions Dr. & Mrs. Cayetano Barrera Glazer’s HEB Image House Media Inter National Bank International Bank of Commerce Inxs Embroidery Jorge Resendiz Events Mr. Israel Rocha, Jr. & Ms. Sarah Wilson Seven Cities Foundation Texas Commission on the Arts $1,999 and under Artline America, Inc. Bebo Distributing Co. Ben E. Keith Company Betty Bentsen Winn Foundation Blue Wave Boggus Motor Sales Castle Hospitality Consulado de Mexico Copy Zone

Creative Marketing Associates Divnick International Inc. Dr. & Mrs. Edward Lindsay Dr. & Mrs. John Gerling Dr. Ernesto Trevino Dr. Roger & Jolene Vitko Fox Packaging Frost National Bank Greater McAllen Association of Realtors Klinck Foundation La Joya Area Federal Credit Union Lee’s Pharmacy North Lone Star National Bank Mr. & Mrs. Gary Gurwitz Mr. & Mrs. Glen Roney Mr. & Mrs. John Hunter Mr. & Mrs. Martin Hamilton Mr. & Mrs. Morris Atlas Mr. & Mrs. Tony Talbot Mr. Cory Wimberly Mr. Gustavo Varela Mr. Joe Metz & Ms. Sharon Waite Mr. Rick Macias Mr. Troy Gearhart Mrs. Marge Bentsen Ms. Elida G. Garza Ms. Rachael Brown Ms. Stephanie Wilson Performance Parking Management Rio Grande Regional Hospital Rio Grande Valley Community Foundation Roerig, Oliveira & Fisher, LLP Santa Fe Steakhouse The Quarter Restaurant Wells Fargo

IMAS MISSION:

To create an environment that inspires, educates and entertains the public through the arts and sciences.

www.theimasonline.org