Davenport, IOWA (September 2012) — On Saturday, September 29, 2012, the Figge Art Museum will participate in the Smithsonian’s annual Museum Day. The Museum will join other participating museums and cultural institutions nationwide to open their doors free of charge to all visitors who download the Museum Day Ticket from Smithsonian.com. Museum Day is a celebration of the dissemination of knowledge to anyone and everyone interested, without a price tag, emulating the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, DC-based facilities.

Museum Day will give visitors the opportunity to see the Figge’s Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service exhibition, “NASA | ART 50 Years of Exploration” before it closes on October 7. Also on view will be “Posing Beauty in African American Culture” and “Waxing Poetic: Exploring Expression in Art,” as well as the Museum’s permanent collection.  For more information about Figge exhibitions, please visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

The Museum Day Ticket is available to download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday.

A list of participating museums is available at www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venues/. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission for two people to participating museums and cultural venues. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. For more information about Smithsonian magazine Museum Day 2012 and links to participating museums’ and supporters’ sites, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum, formerly the Davenport Museum of Art, opened August 6, 2005. The award-winning building designed by architect David Chipperfield holds a collection of approximately 3,500 works that reflect artistic styles and developments from the Renaissance to contemporary art, with particular strengths in American Regionalist, Mexican Colonial, and Haitian art.  The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, Sundays 12-5 p.m.and Thursdays 10 a.m.- 9p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

About Smithsonian Media
Smithsonian Media comprises Smithsonian magazine, Air & Space, goSmithsonian, Smithsonian Media Digital Network and the Smithsonian Channel. Smithsonian Media’s flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, is one of the nation’s largest magazines with a circulation of more than 2 million and nearly 7 million readers. Smithsonian Media is a division of Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating business unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visited the Smithsonian in 2010.