Families and Kids

For more than six decades, the Evansville Museum has exhibited and collected contemporary regional art through the presentation of an annual Mid-States competition open to artists residing the six states of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Missouri. Some of this region’s most accomplished artists and art educators have been selected to show their work in the Mid-States exhibitions; and the competitions have importantly encouraged the participation of young, emerging artists. The 59TH MID-STATES ART EXHIBITION, on display from December 9, 2018 – March 3, 2019 in the OLD GALLERY, will feature paintings, drawings, prints, collage, sculpture, and mixed media work.

Juror for this year’s competition is Philip R. Jackson, Associate Professor of Art and Painting Area Chair at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Mr. Jackson’s work is included in the Evansville Museum’s permanent collection and his paintings were featured in a solo exhibition here as part of his appointment as the Museum’s Martha & Merritt deJong Artist-in-Residence in 2008.

This exhibition is presented through a grant from the Efroymson Family Fund.

Amanda Sibrel is an accomplished woodworker and artist who studied at the Kansas City Arts Institute. Receiving her B.F.A in Printmaking in 2004, she returned to her hometown of Evansville, IN shortly after graduation.

Her work offers a glimpse into Evansville’s past and present. Because of her living environment, her curiosity for the obscure stems from childhood. She is inspired by local Catholic churches, Victorian homes, and figures made available through photos sold at antique shops. She uniquely combines these visual reminiscences and presents them through her art.

Siebrel invites viewers to contemplate who and why certain people and objects are portrayed in her pieces. Using wood panel as her support, Sibrel incorporates the natural grain into the composition of her work. The texture offered from the panel adds depth to the caricatures, or generates the illusion of a home.

To reinforce the concept of her work, Sibrel recently exhibited at The Bower-Suhrheinrich Foundation Gallery in November 2017. Titled, Amanda Sibrel: My House Was Built with Wood from Your Family Tree, this installation focused on Sibrel’s connection to the house, located on Chandler Avenue, she grew up in. Currently, Sibrel exhibits locally and regionally. She is actively sought after by private collectors and has work in the permanent collection of the Evansville Museum.

While La Belle Époque is used as the  popular term to describe the late 19th century to World War I, it is a style more than an era. The word encapsulates the flamboyant and wistful men and women who participated in the luxuries life offered. Elegant balls, new technologies, and racy goods were common trends on the streets of Paris. The daily lifestyle of La Belle Époque inspired artists, as it began to seep into their work. Jules Chéret was the first to display his work in the medium of poster advertising in the 1880’s. He is credited with inventing the vintage poster art form and was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the French Government in 1890. His style and talent glamorized the industry in so far as he inspired and eventually employed many prominent artists who followed in his artform.

Today, original authentic vintage European advertising posters have come to be recognized as a highly collectible form of art, whether for pleasure or for investment purposes. World-renowned museums exhibit vintage posters and acquire them for permanent collections. Magnificent examples of such vintage poster collections may be found at the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. This collection of vintage posters, on generous loan from the private collection of Greg Bloch and Paulette Lloyd, continues in the Main Gallery through April 14.

EVANSVILLE IN THE 1960S, February 10-April 28, 2019, examines key happenings in our City during this nationally turbulent decade and highlights topics including education, commerce, City infrastructure, important occurrences, and the impact of national events. Though Evansville was not devoid of unrest, perhaps because of its basic conservatism and its Midwest location it was not impacted by nor involved to as great an extent in the cultural upheaval that swept parts of the country during the decade of the 1960s. Although thousands of men from the area served in Vietnam and young people from the City lost their lives, there were no major demonstrations against the war; and the outbursts of racial unrest in Evansville were not on the scale of the disquiet that swept major cities.

During the 1960s, Evansville’s community leaders concentrated on the City’s education system, infrastructure, and commerce. Strides were made in upgrading educational opportunities at both the high school and college levels. In 1962, Lincoln High School, the segregated, black high-school in the City, was converted to an elementary school as part of the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation’s integration program.

That same year Harrison High School opened. In 1965, an extension campus of Indiana State University began classes in Evansville (now the University of Southern Indiana) and Evansville College became the University of Evansville in 1967.  Schools in the City enjoyed success in sports in the 1960s as Evansville College won basketball championships on three occasions, Bosse High School and North High School won state high school basketball titles, and Reitz High School enjoyed success on the gridiron.

Ambitious building projects included  construction of the Civic Center, the riverfront renewal project, extensive renewal of the downtown area, completion of the floodwall, the opening of branch libraries, and the construction of high-rise housing units. In 1963, Evansville became home to Indiana’s first enclosed shopping complex as Washington Square Mall opened on the southeast side and retail shopping began a major move away from downtown. Through artifacts, imagery, and documents, EVANSVILLE IN THE 1960S looks back at a period when Evansvillians were living through quickly changing times.

The Engineering Super Saturday is back and better than ever! Try your hand at fun STEM challenges and activities while watching the finale of the University of Evansville’s Balsa Wood Bridge Competition.

Also showing will be Dream Big showing at 1:00, 2:00 & 3:00 PM. Admission is free. Dream Big is Narrated by Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges, Dream Big: Engineering Our World will transform how we think about engineering. From the Great Wall of China and the world’s tallest buildings to underwater robots, solar cars and smart, sustainable cities, Dream Big celebrates the human ingenuity behind engineering marvels big and small, and shows how engineers push the limits of innovation in unexpected and amazing ways.

The fourth Saturday of every month is designated a Super Saturday at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science. From 11:00 AM–3:00 PM the day is filled with crafts, activities, challenges and/or guest lectures, all on a different theme each time. Children, teens, adults and families are encouraged to have a fun day exploring new topics. All Super Saturday activities are included with Museum admission. Super Saturdays are presented in partnership by the Evansville Museum Contemporaries.

First Thursdays are now expanding to including artist demonstrations! On the first Thursday of every other month, from 6:00–8:00 PM, Museum guests can interact with working artists, observe art technics and learn how a work of art is created.

On the First Thursday, March 8, 2019, visit to see Emily Gartner demonstrate her work as a textile artist.

First Thursdays are apart of the Your Thursday Nights! program. This program delivers not only free admission from 5:00–8:00 PM every Thursday but also free access to lectures, family activities, workshops and other fun activities to the general public!

This month, the Creative Crowd will be inspired by La Belle Epoque: Commercial Creativity in European Advertising, to create their own steampunk doodle designs. These fun and super relaxing designs can be created by artists of all ability levels. Come and hang out with us while you doodle.

Let’s be honest – you NEED a space where you can sit back, relax and be creative. And the Evansville Museum has just what you are looking for. The Creative Crowd gets together to explore new art techniques, materials and themes, all while having a great time with new friends.

We meet the second Saturday of each month from 1 pm to 3 pm, and the Third Thursday of the month from 6 pm to 7:30 pm. The Kids’ Creative Crowd (for kids ages 5 and up) meets the second Saturday of each month from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Join us every session or just drop-in for one! New guests are always welcome. While all supplies are provided, you are welcome to bring your own in-progress projects.

Entry to the Creative Crowd is included with Museum admission. Join us and bring a friend!

Kids Art Journaling Club is perfect for the little artist in your family! A journal is all a kid needs as they learn how to experiment with art and create mixed media art with techniques like collage, stamping, paper crafts and more. All other art supplies are included with Museum admission. Kids Art Journaling Club will meet the Second Saturday of every month from 11:30 AM–12:30 PM. This program is included with Museum admission and is recommended for kids ages 6 years to 10 years old.

Questions about Art Journal Club can be e-mailed to education@emuseum.org.

Start your day with a bit of science and coffee! Science with a Perk is a short, informal program touching on interesting topics of engineering, medicine and technology presented by leading experts at Honey Moon Coffee Company. The event starts at 8:30 AM and is admission-free.

Join us on March 13 for a talk with Tyler Scott, Lead Pharmacist Inpatient Pharmacy Deaconess Gateway, who will discuss The Evolution of Pharmacies.

First Thursdays are now expanding to including artist demonstrations! On the first Thursday of every other month, from 6:00–8:00 PM, Museum guests can interact with working artists, observe art technics and learn how a work of art is created.

On the First Thursday, April 4, 2019, visit to see Marc James Villanueva demonstrate his work as a painter.

First Thursdays are apart of the Your Thursday Nights! program. This program delivers not only free admission from 5:00–8:00 PM every Thursday but also free access to lectures, family activities, workshops and other fun activities to the general public!

Topics at 12 is a free brown bag lunch series of presentations by Museum staff members of topics related to art, history and science. Each presentation will be held in the Evansville Museum’s Old Gallery on Free Friday at 12:00 PM.

Join us on April 5 for Care of Textiles. Have you ever wondered how to care for Grandma’s quilt? What about that treasured wedding gown? Join Museum Registrar Liz Fuhrman Bragg for a discussion on the care, display and storage of common household textiles. The informal talk will touch on best practices for saving those items which hold so many special memories, including what locally available materials to use. The 30 minute discussion will be followed with time for questions.

In honor of the Evansville Museum’s International Drone Film Festival, we are dedicating an entire Super Saturday to drones! Expect a lot of fun, and maybe an appearance by paper airplanes, too.

Also, the International Drone Film Festival will be in the Koch Immersive Theater. For more information, please visit here: https://evansvillemuseum.org/programs/special-events/drone-fest/ 

The fourth Saturday of every month is designated a Super Saturday at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science. From 11:00 AM–3:00 PM the day is filled with crafts, activities, challenges and/or guest lectures, all on a different theme each time. Children, teens, adults and families are encouraged to have a fun day exploring new topics. All Super Saturday activities are included with Museum admission. Super Saturdays are presented in partnership by the Evansville Museum Contemporaries.

Activities include:

• Drone
• Go Pro
• Paper airplanes

The Evansville Museum International Drone Film Festival, Saturday, April 27, 2019, is a film competition offering a unique overview of the development in trends and techniques of drone cinematography. Now in our second year, our film festival will offer an international platform for filmmakers to exhibit their work as well as compete for an anticipated $2500 in cash prizes. Screenings of winning entries and shortlisted films will take place inside the amazing dome of the Museum’s Koch Immersive Theater & Planetarium.

Click here to see the winning entries from the 2018 Evansville Museum International Drone Film Festival.

Get involved in 2019 as we showcase the best that aerial cinematography has to offer at our day-long event that features two separate screenings of the official selection as picked by our judges, a drone regulations workshop, a how to get started in drone videography workshop, a drone demonstration and giveaways!

Click here to submit an entry https://filmfreeway.com/EvansvilleDroneFilmFestival. Submitted films may be up to 5-minutes in length. Applications close March 22, 2019.

Our Grand Prize Awards

Best of Show Award

Best Tri-State Film Award (Indiana, Kentucky & Illinois)

Best Student Entry Award

People’s Choice Award

Our Category Awards

Land, Sky, Water, Air (Landscapes, Nature, Urban)

Extreme Video (Drone Racing, Sports, Fast-Paced Videos)

Open Category (Films that Do Not Fit in Other Categories)

Festival Schedule

11:00-12:30 PM Public Viewing of Official Selections

1:00-2:00 PM Workshops

2:00-3:30 PM Public Viewing of Official Selections (a repeat of 11:00-12:30 pm)

4:00 PM Presentation of Category Winners, Best of Show, Tri-State, Student & People’s Choice Awards

Ticket Pricing

Drone Film Festival Admission will be $20 (includes optional workshops & Museum admission)

Other Information

Jury Panel– Selects our official selections and chooses grand prize & category winners

• Roger McBain – former arts editor for the Evansville Courier & Press
• Joe Atkinson – digital multi-media specialist in residence at the University of Evansville
• One Additional Judge TBA

Click here for  EMIDFF Rules

TEXT OF EMIDFF RULES

All entries must be submitted through the Evansville Museum International Drone Film Festival (EMIDFF) festival page on FilmFreeway.com specifically via this url: https://FilmFreeway.com/festival/EvansvilleDroneFilmFestival. All short film submissions must be done through direct upload to FilmFreeway.

Film Submissions – To be considered for the EMIDFF your content must meet all the specifications and requirements relating to film categories and submission. Your film does not need to exclusively contain aerial footage, but must incorporate at least 50% Drone footage.  You agree you will not submit any content that is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, racially, culturally, or ethnically offensive, harassing, intimidating, threatening, hateful, discriminatory or abusive.

Film Selection – Films are reviewed during the application period. You  will be notified via FilmFreeway by no later than April 8, 2019 if your film has been selected.

Jury Panel – A panel of three judges will make the the official selections and category winners.

Screening – Official Selection Films successful, will be screened at an all-day event on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Evansville, Indiana (USA) in the Koch Immersive Theater at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science.

Official Selections – A total of five films will comprise the official selections of the EMIFF for each category and will be announced to the public at two film festival screenings on Saturday, April 27 2019. Film makers who submit a film chosen as an official selection of the Festival will receive free admission to EMIDFF You will be contacted if your film is an official selection by the April 8, 2019.

Drone Film Festival Categories-Short Film (Using a Drone to tell a Story), Land, Sky, Water, Air (Landscapes, Nature, Urban), Extreme Video (Drone Racing, Sports, Fast-Paced Videos), Open Category (Films that Do Not Fit in Other Categories)

Discretionary Awards-Best of Show, Best Tri-State Film (films submitted from Indiana, Kentucky & Illinois), Best Student Entry (entries by students), People’s Choice Award (picked during event).

Notification Date: You will be notified if your entry was accepted as an official selection in our festival by the notification date of Monday, April 8, 2019. Entry in our festival does not constitute automatically being an official selection.

Winning Films – One winning film in each category, plus up to four discretionary awards will be announced to the public at two film festival screenings on Saturday, April 6, 2019. Winners receive free admission to EMIDFF, Prizes will be delivered to film makers post film festival in U.S. Dollars by PayPal or by check payable to a U.S. bank and delivered to U.S. addresses by the United States Postal Service. If you are not in the U.S., you agree to accept payment by the PayPal service. You will be contacted if your film is winning entry by the Notification Date .

Student Films- Entries eligible for our Best Student Award must be submitted by a student of an accredited educational institution. The name of the educational institution must be entered with the film submission.

Subtitles – Are welcome, but not required, expect in the case of non-English speaking films, which must include English subtitles.

By entering your film into the Evansville Museum International Drone Film Festival EMIDFF you accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property contained within your film and that you have cleared all contents of the film with the respective copyright holders prior to submission to the festival. By entering your work into this festival this constitutes permission to exhibit your work at the EMIDFF. We reserve the right to use segments of your submitted film for promotional purposes only, including but not limited to broadcast on TV or the internet. You agree that the EMIDFF may use your publicity stills prior to the festival for marketing, promotional activities and publicity purposes. We may also screen your film for judging, media review purposes or for exhibition, launch, after parties, partner events in association with We will always contact you (or a nominated filmmaker) to inform you of this prior to use.

Consent of parent or guardian must be obtained where a minor may be a participant in the film festival or competition. If the winner of a prize is under the age of 18 years, the prize will be awarded to the winner’s nominated parents or guardian.

The Filmmaker grants EMIDFF the non¬exclusive right to exhibit the film at the EMIDFF. Additionally, Filmmaker grants EMIDFF the right to exhibit the Film up to ten times at EMIDFF branded events for a period of one year. You authorize EMIDFF to display your film on the EMIDFF website and give express permission to the festival to screen your film publicly at without monetary compensation.

EMIDFF does not claim any ownership rights to the content and films, the intellectual property and proprietary rights existing anywhere in the world and EMIDFF acquire no ownership, proprietary or other rights to your work and or film.

By submitting your film, it does not guarantee acceptance and selection of the work into the EMIDFF. You agree that you are aware that all films received will be reviewed by jury and judged, and that some films may not be selected for cinema screening as official selection of EMIDFF. You accept this risk.

This agreement is made in the state of Indiana, The United States of America and is governed by its laws.

Topics at 12 is a free brown bag lunch series of presentations by Museum staff members of topics related to art, history and science. Each presentation will be held in the Evansville Museum’s Old Gallery on Free Friday at 12:00 PM.

Join May 3 for The Healing Power of Art. From the time of Prehistoric cave paintings to the present, art has been a unique tool for humans in communication and learning. We experience emotional connections through art and research indicates that human interaction with art can influence a sense of well-being and healing. Join Joycelyn Todisco, Director of the Museum Art Source and Museum Shop, for a talk on Evidence Based Design research proving art is a critical component of the healthcare environment.

Join the Evansville Museum and LifeStyle Tours for an exciting and educational motor coach trip to two of the south’s most interesting cities—Chattanooga and Atlanta—from Monday, June 3-Thursday, June 6, 2019. Along the way, we will visit intriguing historical sites and museums and enjoy some wonderful food at unique restaurants.

Highlights in Atlanta include:

– Guided Riding Tour of Historic  Atlanta
– Olympic Centennial Park
– Oakland Cemetery
– Martin Luther, King, Jr. Memorial Site
– Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum
– World of Coca-Cola
– Atlanta History Center—including Swan House, Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama, and Tullie Smith Farm
– Dinner at Mary Mac’s Tea Room

Highlights in Chattanooga include:

– The Incline Railway to Lookout Mountain
– Ruby Falls
– Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Military Park
– Lunch at Bea’s Restaurant

For reservations and further information, visit lifestyletoursonline.com, lifestyletours1983@gmail.com, or call at (812) 682-4477

Special Evansville Museum member pricing is $984.00 per person, based on double occupancy, and includes seven meals, three nights lodging, and baggage handling for one piece per person.

When making your reservation, please identify yourself as an Evansville Museum member and the Museum will receive a generous contribution from LifeStyle Tours.