Art Museum of Southeast Texas

Incorporated in the state of Texas on September 14, 1950, the Beaumont Art Museum was originally housed on the lower floor of a two-story rented house on Calder Avenue in Beaumont. In September of 1956, the S. Perry Brown family donated funds to build a facility on the Southeast Texas State Fairgrounds. This building now houses the Beaumont Art League. In 1969, the family of J. Crooke Wilson donated their estate to the City of Beaumont for the purpose of housing the Beaumont Art Museum. The donation was contingent upon the City of Beaumont providing professional direction and a dedicated educational focus to the Museum. The five-acre property was located in Old Town, Beaumont’s historic district. On September 10, 1987, after completing a comprehensive capital drive which brought in $4.2 million, the Beaumont Art Museum was re-born as the Art Museum of Southeast Texas and found its current home at 500 Main Street in Beaumont.

AMSET strives to provide education, inspiration and creative vision throughout Southeast Texas through its unique collections, exhibitions and public programs. Over the years, AMSET’s permanent collection has grown from 200 to nearly 2,000 objects, focusing its collections on contemporary Texas artists and regional folk art. The generous donations of museum patrons, collectors and artists allow the museum to continuously build its collections.

AMSET hosts eight to ten exhibitions each year, some of which are organized in-house and travel on to other venues.

In August 2007, AMSET opened a semi-permanent gallery featuring the folk art totems of Beaumont self-taught artist Felix “Fox” Harris. Harris’ work had a colorful history at the museum – from its installations in outdoor areas, to de-installations due to hurricane threats, to criticism from the community, to many recent years in storage – finally the totems found a resting place in the newly dedicated gallery made to recreate Harris’ home site.

The Art Museum of Southeast Texas understands the importance of education and organizes a variety of programs tailored to teaching children in creative ways. Every year, AMSET's educational outreach programs reach thousands of children and adults. Programs such as Art-To-Go, Free Family Arts Day, Art After School, and Odom Junior Docents provide Southeast Texans with free access to educational art and free admission to their museum.

Art-To-Go, the mobile outreach program for the Art Museum of Southeast Texas provides art education and creative expression in the visual arts to remote and under-served audiences. Education is a major strength of the museum; educational goals are set to make the museum community-oriented. Programming is directed to attract an inter-generational and culturally diverse audience reflective of our community. Art-To-Go visits audiences by bringing the museum to them. Audiences learn about the museum, its programs and begin to recognize AMSET as a cultural oasis that is free and open to the public, seven days a week. Art-To-Go visits sites within an 80-mile surrounding area of the physical facility and is the only outreach art program of its kind in our region. Art-To-Go visits all segments of the community including schools, community centers, retirement homes, day care centers and summer school programs.

Planned in conjunction with four major exhibitions each year, Family Arts Days combine creative exploration of the exhibit on display, plus hands-on art activities and storytelling for families. All activities are free, and all art materials are provided. Family Arts Days are always free and open to the public.

In collaboration with the Beaumont Independent School District, AMSET's Art After School program brings fourth graders from area Title I elementary schools (Martin Elementary, Fletcher Elementary, Charlton-Pollard Elementary, and Dr. Mae Jones-Clark Elementary) to AMSET. A school bus transports the students to the museum and then to their homes accompanied by a teacher's aide from their school. A very popular and successful program, Art After School has a 99% participation level.

During the week-long program, students complete workshops introducing them to museums and the work of AMSET's exhibiting artists. In addition, students are given the opportunity to create their own works of art and learn about problem solving through art activities. For many of these children, this will mark their first museum visit. This program is designed to make them comfortable entering any museum in any part of the world. Children from the Art After School program often introduce their families to the museum and become repeat visitors to family events.

Advanced middle school art students from Odom Academy, the Beaumont Independent School District arts magnet, make 10 to 12 visits per school year to the Art Museum of Southeast Texas to take part in AMSET's Odom Junior Docents (OJD) program. OJDs learn about museum practices and interact with exhibits and artists. Through a series of multifaceted presentations, students learn how to give tours at the museum. They also create their own artwork, which is displayed each spring in AMSET's Quinn Lecture Hall.

The culmination of the program is an intensive, two-day round of guided tours for all Odom Academy sixth-graders (approximately 250 12 year-olds). OJDs organize and guide tours through all the current exhibitions on view and also through the exhibit of their own artwork. At a reception for their exhibit, students receive a recognition gift and earn a final grade based on tour evaluations completed by teachers and family. This program fosters an understanding of the need for volunteers within our community. Many OJDs go on to volunteer at Family Arts Days and other AMSET events.

Protégé Competition and Exhibition provides local 12th-graders exposure to the art world. AMSET believes it is important for young artists to have an opportunity to experience art competitions and learn how to properly exhibit their artwork. Protégé is offered to senior students in Chambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, and Tyler counties. Artists who are selected for the Protégé exhibition attend an archival framing workshop given by the AMSET curatorial department. Prizes for winners include scholarships to Lamar University's Art Department and gift certificates for art supplies.

• Art Museum of Southeast Texas