Reynolda House Museum of American Art offers free admission to N.C. teachers through Aug. 31

Reynolda House is offering free museum admission to all Pre-K to grade 12 teachers at public and private schools in the state of N.C. through Aug. 31. 

During the COVID outbreak, teachers and childcare staff were classified as frontline essential workers, second only to first responders and healthcare professionals. As a way to recognize the service of classroom teachers during times of uncertainty, the teaching and learning staff at Reynolda proposed that the Museum offer free admission for teachers this summer in order to extend a second wave of appreciation during the COVID era, and to offer an opportunity for continued learning for teachers. 

Teachers can receive their free admission ticket online or in-person at Reynolda House (teachers may purchase one ticket per order). Proper ID is required at check-in. Advance registration is encouraged— not required—to visit the Museum. 

“A commitment to education is central to our mission at Reynolda, and we recognize that teachers have worked tirelessly to support students’ learning in an unprecedented environment, serving as some of the most influential frontline workers,” said  Allison Perkins, executive director, Reynolda House, and Wake Forest associate provost for Reynolda House and  Reynolda Gardens. “We are fortunate to be able to offer a token of our appreciation to our teachers this summer through free admission.”

Reynolda House’s educational programs include a strong focus on early childhood education, and the Museum produces numerous programs for pre-readers (under five) and their caregivers, as well as programs designed to promote intergenerational learning. The Museum’s early childhood programs are designed to promote reading and literacy readiness in young children. This initiative comes alongside similar programs throughout Forsyth County to improve pre-K reading and language development outcomes.

In support of the Museum’s strategic directions, each exhibition season features a unique menu of carefully designed symposia, lectures, virtual tours, courses, and other educational opportunities for visitors of all ages, with numerous programs per year designed to promote learning. The Museum collaborates with local organizations to present nationally recognized historians, curators, and critics to a general audience, enriching the cultural life and civic consciousness of the region’s citizens. Reynolda House offers a rich selection of virtual and hybrid programs, including Reynolda Read-Aloud, Family First workshops, Reynolda Community Day, Visual Literacy for Caregivers, Let’s Talk About Art, Outdoor Discovery Tours, and outdoor family yoga. In addition, Reynolda offers at-home art kits and multimedia discovery lessons for teachers and caregivers.

As part of this summer’s free admission offering at the Museum, teachers will have an opportunity to view The Voyage of Life: Art, Allegory, and Community Response, which opens July 20 to the public and July 16 to Museum members, first responders, and Wake Forest University faculty, staff, and students— and teachers—with Weekend of Gratitude. In this exhibition, three centuries of American art will illuminate the chapters of every individual life. Works by artists including Alice Neel, Kiki Smith, Fairfield Porter, Lee Krasner, Robert Colescott, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Romare Bearden and Grant Wood will be featured alongside community stories and reveal critical defining moments in the voyage of life, with its heydays, rough patches and new starts. Exhibition tickets for The Voyage of Life are available online at reynoldahouse.org/voyage.

Reynolda House, located at 2250 Reynolda Rd., is open to visitors Tuesday-Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Museum members, children 18 and under, students, military personnel, employees of Wake Forest University and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center with valid ID receive free admission to the Museum. Passes to Reynolda House in English and Spanish are available to check out from every branch of the Forsyth County Public Library free of charge. 

Reynolda Gardens is open from dawn to dusk daily free of charge.  The greenhouse is currently closed. Visit reynoldavillage.org for more information on shopping and dining.

About Reynolda
Reynolda, in Winston-Salem, N.C., is a rare gem among the nation’s arts and cultural institutions and historic greenspaces. The art museum at the center of Reynolda’s 180 acres, Reynolda House Museum of American Art, presents a renowned art collection in a historic and incomparable setting: the original 1917 interiors of the country manor of R. J. Reynolds. Spanning 250 years, the collection is an uncompromisingly selective one, a chronology of American art, with each artist represented by one work of major significance. Highlights are: Albert Bierstadt, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Frederic Edwin Church, Stuart Davis, Martin Johnson Heade, Alex Katz, Lee Krasner, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Singer Sargent and Grant Wood. The Reynolda experience includes a free app called Reynolda Revealed; touring exhibitions in the Museum’s Mary and Charlie Babcock Wing; formal gardens, conservatory and walking trails of Reynolda Gardens; and more than 25 of the estate’s original buildings repurposed as shops and restaurants in Reynolda Village. Reynolda, located at 2250 Reynolda Road, is part of Wake Forest University. For more information, please visit reynolda.org.

Connect at facebook.com/rhmaa and @CurateReynolda on Instagram.

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Media Contact
Kaci Baez
336.758.5524 or kaci@reynolda.org