Allentown, PA<\/strong> \u2013 Summer officially began at the Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley <\/strong>on Sunday, June 25, when a crowd of nearly nine hundred turned out for Make Your Mark, Allentown!<\/strong>, a free family-friendly art festival.\u00a0 The event included printmaking and other art activities, music, and delicious bites from local area food trucks.\u00a0 Crowds gathered inside the Museum and outside on Fifth Street, which was closed to traffic for the event.\u00a0 Festivities ran noon until 4 p.m.<\/span> and community members worked alongside one another to create prints similar to the artwork donated by one of the Museum\u2019s longtime benefactors, Paul Kania.\u00a0 That day also marked the opening of the Museum\u2019s summer exhibition, A Collecting Spirit: Gifts of Paul Kania<\/em><\/strong>, <\/em>that showcases the art of printmaking and more than 150 objects donated to the Museum by Kania.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Artists from Lafayette College\u2019s Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI) <\/strong>demonstrated hands-on screen printing techniques to visitors while DJ Alfa Lopez<\/strong> from La Mega Radio (noon-2 p.m.<\/span>) and DJ CherishTheLuv<\/strong> (2-4 p.m.<\/span>) filled the air outside the Museum with music. Inside, families gathered upstairs in the Museum\u2019s Art Ways Interactive Gallery<\/strong>, where staff showed youngsters how to create textures in their own prints.<\/p>\n Another big draw on opening day was the presence of Liberty High School (Bethlehem) and Villanova University basketball standout Darrun Hilliard<\/strong>, who has played the last two years with the NBA\u2019s Detroit Pistons and just signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. As the public face of Make Your Mark, Allentown!<\/em><\/strong>, Darrun interacted with fans young and old, bringing a bit of star-athlete power into the galleries. But Darrun\u2019s and the Museum\u2019s commitment to the community went deeper. The day before the festival, on Saturday, June 24, the Museum arranged for Darrun and a group of volunteers to work at the Sixth Street Shelter in the Jordan Heights section of downtown Allentown, preparing an apartment for a family moving in by cleaning and outfitting it with new kitchen supplies, bedding, towels, and other household items. Shelter coordinator Jonathan Copeland explains why the Refresh, Restock & Repair process is so important: \u201cOur residents have already come from such terrible circumstances. We try to err on the side of keeping humanity and dignity intact while our residents are on their journey to self-sufficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n All aspects of Make Your Mark, Allentown! <\/em><\/strong>were organized by the Museum\u2019s Public Engagement staff.\u00a0 This dynamic team creates and delivers the Museum\u2019s programming with the overall goal of using the shared experience of art as a way to teach, inspire, transform, and engage.<\/p>\n The excitement of summer continued to infuse the Museum when on Wednesday, June 28, an after-work Unboxing Event<\/em><\/strong> was held to bring together potential future leaders of the Museum. Thirty young professionals attended the evening event\u2014some as couples, some with friends\u2014which began with a reception that included a reveal of the Museum\u2019s new logo and strategic vision (launching this fall).\u00a0 Attendees then enjoyed a tour of the vaults and a behind-the-scenes glimpse of unboxing a work of art that had just arrived at the Museum.\u00a0 The evening also included a personal request to join this new group by founding members Megan Beste, Casey Roncoroni<\/strong>, and Kate Kareha<\/strong>.\u00a0 The title of the group, voted on by those in attendance, is Circle 31<\/strong>, which will be formally launched in the fall.<\/p>\n All in all, and with many visitors expected over the July 4th weekend, the busy first week of the season promises for a strong summer showing at the Museum.\u00a0 Moreover, the energy and excitement will pave the way for announcements that the Museum will reveal this fall.<\/p>\n The Allentown Art Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that participates in the cultural, educational, and economic life of the Lehigh Valley. Defined by a unique combination of tradition and innovation, our collections, educational partnerships, collaborative and community based programs, and exhibitions are dedicated to inspiring the broadest possible public engagement, access, and service.\u00a0\u00a0For more information please visit <\/em>AllentownArtMuseum.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Information & Images Provided By: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/MAKE-YOUR-MARK-Yesenia-Perez.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a>
\nChris Potash
\nManager of Marketing and Public Relations
\nAllentown Art Museum
\n31 N. Fifth Street
\nAllentown, PA\u00a0\u00a0 18101<\/p>\n
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