Museum Week DC Features Special Exhibits and Offers May 23-29, 2016

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Alliance of Museums and Destination DC today unveiled a comprehensive list of visitor discounts, programs and promotions planned for Museum Week DC (May 23-29). The week includes unique programming and exhibits at almost 20 museums, gardens and historic homes of the nation’s capital.

Special offers for Museum Week DC include two-for-one admission at The Phillips Collection, a 15% discount on tickets purchased online for the Newseum, and $1 off tours of the Tudor Place Historic House & Garden. Find Museum Week DC details on washington.org/museumweekdc.  Follow and share activities on Twitter with #MuseumWeekDC. 

“Museum Week DC is a unique opportunity for tourists, conventioneers and residents of the Washington, DC metro area to get special access to museum programs and institutions,” said Laura L. Lott, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). “We encourage visitors to use these discounts and visit the dozens of treasured museums throughout the region.”

Museum Week DC also is the occasion for the creation of two original public art works installed on the grounds of President Lincoln’s Cottage. “We Stand Together” by Michael Platt and Carol Beane and “Rotate. Shift. Repeat" by Wesley Clark and Courtney Clark were inspired by a crowdsourced Twitter campaign in which museum staff and visitors shared their stories about how museums influenced and inspired their lives.

Additional programs include an outdoor jazz concert in the Sculpture Garden on the grounds of the National Gallery of Art; sound art installation at the National Museum of African Art; a cooking demonstration at United States Botanic Garden as well as access to entire collections dedicated to the First Amendment at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center or the history of espionage at the International Spy Museum. “The nation’s capital is full of lively, interactive and historic museums and cultural attractions that cater to a multitude of interests,” Lott said.

The week-long celebration corresponds with the American Alliance of Museums’ (AAM) 2016 Annual Meeting & Museum Expo, the annual gathering of more than 6,000 museum professionals, who will convene at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, May 26-29, 2016.

“Museum Week exemplifies the growing trend of meetings that engage the host community at large, something we encourage and support,” said Elliott Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC. “It provides an opportunity for our unique cultural community to celebrate with attendees as they host events that appeal to business and leisure travelers as well as locals. AAM’s annual meeting is expected to bring an economic impact of $6.2 million which directly benefits DC residents.”

Read more about AAM’s annual meeting at annualmeeting.aam-us.org, and you can follow the event on Twitter through #AAM2016.  

About the American Alliance of Museums
The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 30,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance is the only organization representing the entire scope of the broad museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

About Destination DC
Destination DC, the lead destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization of nearly 850 businesses committed to marketing the area as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities. www.washington.org.

Press Contact: 
Joseph Klem
Phone: 202-218-7670
Email: [email protected]

Danielle Davis, Director of Communications, Destination DC
Phone: 202-789-7046
Email: [email protected]

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