Blanton Museum of Art

May is blooming at the Blanton. 🌸 From a brand-new exhibition to a special Mother’s Day Blanton All Day—and free admission for military families later this month—here’s what to look forward to in May: 🌹 May 1–10: Treat someone special to a year of art with 20% off all gift memberships using code ILOVEMOM 🖼️ May 2: Our new Paper Vault exhibition "Art in Every Corner: The Works Progress Administration (1935 – 1943)" opens! 🪩 May 10, 10 am – 5 pm: Make it a Mother's Day to remember with silent disco feat. @_peligrosa DJ collective, massage therapy, roses, and more at our next Blanton All Day. 📚 May 10, 3 pm: Hear author John P. Murphy [@printprintprints ] discuss the federal art project that inspired our newest exhibition, followed by a Q&A session and book signing. 🦅 Beginning May 16: Our Blue Star Museum program returns — from Armed Forces Day to Labor Day, active duty military and up to five guests get free museum admission. Click the link in our bio or go to blantonmuseum.org/programs to check details, get tickets, and plan your visit. Members ALWAYS get FREE admission to Blanton All Day and Sound Break, plus discounted parking, and more.

It’s time to get a peek, mes amis! 🇫🇷 Say bonjour to Café Fleurs de Nuit, the new name of our café in partnership with beloved culinary destination @justinesbrasserie . Plus, get a taste of the French–modernism–meets–Renaissance space taking shape! ‘Fleurs de Nuit,’ translated from French as ‘night‑blooming flowers,’ is a fitting name for a café on the Blanton’s grounds. Opening this fall, @cafefleursdenuit will offer breakfast, lunch, and—on Saturdays when the Blanton stays open late—dinner, too. The eye-catching logo, designed by Austin artist Mishka Westell (@outsideworlddesign ) in collaboration with the Justine’s team, pairs perfectly with the interior led by fellow local designer Joel Mozersky (@joelmozerskydesign ). More updates coming soon! Track the evolution here: @cafefleursdenuit Click the link in bio to learn more and read the full press release. Images: Logo by Mishka Westell / Rendering of Café Fleurs de Nuit. Image credit: Joel Mozersky Design and the Blanton Museum of Art.

😌 Take a meditative moment in our Butler Sound Gallery and listen to the new outdoor sound art installation by Jennie C. Jones, “RPM (revolutions per minute).” Pick a bench and use the accompanying prompt to guide you across the soundscape. Visitors can experience the work during museum hours.   🔈Jennie C. Jones, “RPM (revolutions per minute),” 2018, audio, 3:40 min., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Purchase through funds provided by the Butler Sound Gallery Endowment, 2026.14

Mesmerized by this digital artwork inspired by #FrankStella, born on this day. 🎉 Created by Leo Villareal, “Scramble” pays tribute to Stella’s minimalist legacy—echoing the concentric squares and vibrant color play of his iconic painting series. Custom software generates randomized sequences of colors that appear to pulse and expand, continuously altering this abstract composition. Often working with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), Leo Villareal describes himself as an artist who uses “code and light as my palette.” On view now in “Run the Code: Data-Driven Art Decoded by Thoma Foundation X Blanton Museum of Art” through August 2, 2026. 🖼️ Leo Villareal, Double Scramble, 2013, Generative custom software (silent), LEDs, computer, circuitry, painted wood, Plexiglas, Collection of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation Run The Code: Data-Driven Art Decoded by Thoma Foundation X Blanton Museum of Art is organized by the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation in collaboration with the Blanton Museum of Art. Support for this exhibition is provided in part by J. P. Morgan Private Bank.

Upcoming Author Talk & Book Signing 5/10/26! 📚✍️ What happens when the government funds art? Learn from John P. Murphy [@printprintprints ], the author of "New Deal Art: Culture and Crisis in the Great Depression," on Sunday, May 10 at 3 pm. John P. Murphy will discuss the promises and pitfalls of Roosevelt’s unprecedented federal funding of the arts — a program that helped launch the careers of artists like Mark Rothko and Alice Neel. Buy a copy in our Museum Store and stick around for the book signing after the talk. Then make a visit to the new Paper Vault exhibition "Art in Every Corner: The Works Progress Administration (1935 – 1943)." Advance reservations recommended. Click the link in bio or go to blantonmuseum.org/programs to book your tickets. Part of Blanton All Day scheduling. Art With an Expert is organized by the Blanton Museum of Art. Support for this program at the Blanton is provided by the Carolyn Harris Hynson Centennial Endowment.

“Look Mom, that museum looks like fun!” 🤩 We’ll handle the art, activities, discounts, and more— you get ahead of gift‑buying with a Blanton membership at 20% off. 🎁 Take 20% off any membership level through May 10 with code ILOVEMOM at checkout! Wrap up a year of benefits that include: 🎟️ Year-round free museum admission 💃 Free entry to Blanton All Day & Soundbreak series + discounts on special events 🛍️ 10% off all Museum Store purchases 🚗 $4 discounted parking Click the link in our bio or visit blantonmuseum.org/membership to claim this offer. Discount valid through May 10. #Protip: Bring Mom to the Museum for Blanton All Day this Sunday, 5/10! Featuring storytime, silent disco, art activities, massages (for purchase), tours and talks, and more, AND it's free entry for members. ✨

A historic museum opening that lasted 24 hours straight… 🥳 Twenty years ago, the Blanton opened the doors to its current home for the first time. The Extremely Grand Opening started at 9 p.m. on April 29, 2006 — and didn’t end until 9 p.m. on April 30. Were you part of the all-night crowd? 👀 Or one of the early birds? 🐥 Drop a memory below! Full story at link in bio. #ThrowbackThursday #BlantonMuseum #ATXlife

Get your dancing shoes ready, fam! 👯 On this #InternationalDanceDay, save these dates for our fan-favorite Summer Dance Series returning to Blanton All Day very soon: 💃 June 13: [new!] the Tango edition + @esquinatango & @horaonce 🎺 July 11: the Swing edition + @atxswingsyndicate & @ryan_gould_musician 🤠 August 8: the Two-Step edition + @doubleornothingtwostep & @sentimentalfamilyband Enjoy dance instruction and live music at each event to help add some pep to your step. ✨ Open to all levels — no experience needed! Click the link in our bio or go to blantonmuseum.org/allday to get advance tickets now! All these events are free for Blanton Members.

Happy #EarthDay! 🌎 Nature has inspired artists across time—and these works on view invite us to slow down and look closely. What’s your favorite work of art inspired by the natural world? 1. Marsden Hartley, "Autumn Impressional," circa 1906-08 2. John La Farge, "Uponohu, End of Cook's Bay," 1890s 3. George Wesley Bellows, "Evening Blue (Tending the Lobster Traps, Early Morning)," 1916 4. Albert Bierstadt, "Indian Canoe," 1886 5. Lafayette Maynard Dixon, "Desert Ranges," 1940 Check out works 1-3 in "American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection: From Edward Hopper to Alma Thomas," on view through August 2, 2026. #Protip: Join us April 24 for B Scene: Color Me Cute—Austin-based artist Christopher Miñán Fitzgerald leads a gallery talk on Bierstadt’s "Indian Canoe." American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection: From Edward Hopper to Alma Thomas is organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.

Byte by byte, “Run the Code” is making headlines! @nytimes writer @jillathrilla visited the exhibition recently: “In bringing these works together, ‘Run the Code’ explores what art is now, what it is becoming, and who, exactly, is making art when it is created with the help of machines — or even, in some cases, with the help of the visitor.” Full story at link in bio. Look out for the story in print on Sunday 4/19! Run The Code: Data-Driven Art Decoded by Thoma Foundation X Blanton Museum of Art is organized by the Carl & Marilynn @thoma_foundation in collaboration with the Blanton Museum of Art. Support for this exhibition is provided in part by J. P. Morgan Private Bank.

Dance until the sun sets at our most stylish party of the year! ✨ Our annual member "avant-garden" party on April 22 is complete with bloomin' good looks, an open bar, and special guests. Join at any level to enjoy this free members-only event: 🥂 Food & drink 🎨 Art-making stations 📷 Photobooth keepsakes 🎶 Live string quartet 🔉Premiere of new Butler Sound Gallery artwork by Jennie C. Jones 🖼️ Galleries open late till 8 pm 🛍️ Double discounts on store purchases (that's 20% off!) Click the link in bio to purchase a membership. Then, RSVP to the party and start planning your "avant-garden" look!

Artforum, in partnership with the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, hosted a conversation at SXSW entitled Data Made Visible in Contemporary Art on March 14, 2026 on the occasion of the museum’s exhibition “Run the Code: Data-Driven Art Decoded by Thoma Foundation X Blanton Museum of Art.” Blanton Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Hannah Klemm moderated the discussion with artist Jason Salavon and exhibition co-organizer Kathleen Forde, Director and Curator of Media Arts at the Thoma Foundation, engaging on the subject of data as a creative material. The conversation explored the lineage of how data became a creative medium, and the many ways art can reshape our understanding of data, authorship, and our identities in a networked world. Follow the link in bio for the full event recording. @blantonmuseum @kfjorde @jasonsalavonstudio @thoma_foundation #HannahKlemm #SXSW #BlantonMuseumofArt