The Sarah Campbell Blaffer Gallery was founded in 1973, named in honor of the late Sarah Campbell Blaffer, who during her lifetime made available to the University a collection of major artworks dating from the 15th century to modern day. This collection was purchased in 1979 by the Blaffer Foundation, an independent organization which is unrelated to the museum and the University. The income from the investment of the sale proceeds provides a portion of Blaffer Gallery's program budget. The Blaffer Art Museum has presented over 250 exhibitions. The current exhibition policy, adopted by the Advisory Board and University Regents in 1986, focuses upon art of the past 100 years and its artistic, cultural and intellectual antecedents. In 1999, the museum expanded. The museum created and hosts education and outreach programs. In 1988, UHReach was founded and in 1998 Young Artists Apprenticeship Program was founded. In 2008, the gallery acquired 149 photographs taken by Andy Warhol as a gift from the Andy Warhol Foundation. The photographs were featured in an exhibition entitled “Celebutants, Groupies and Friends” at the gallery. The collection included photographs of Jamie Lee Curtis, Billy Squier, late Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell, Pia Zadora, and others. The Blaffer Art Museum was honored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services on November 4, 2009 when first ladyMichelle Obama awarded the museum with the Coming Up Taller Award. The award gives $10,000 to art programs that help underprivileged youth. Under the directorship of Claudia Schmuckli In 2010, Blaffer Gallery was renamed to Blaffer Art Museum in the context of a major capital campaign for the museum's redesign. The newly-renovated museum facility designed by the New York-based firm Work Architecture Co. opened on October 12, 2012.
In 1988, Blaffer Gallery began a unique educational program for school children, UHReach. This program is now recognized nationally as an exemplary, multi-faceted outreach initiative. Blaffer has built intensive relationships with 18 elementary, middle and high schools in the neighborhoods surrounding the museum and UHReach serves schools from 24 area districts. Students from University of Houston and Texas Southern University are extensively trained and employed as docents for UHReach. They lead dialogue-based tours of the exhibitions and also visit school classrooms to conduct pre- and post-tour activities. In 1998 the Blaffer Gallery founded the Young Artists Apprenticeship Program, which provides a free after-school arts program to at-risk and special needs high school students. It is a six-week, after-school workshop and provides an in-depth exploration of an artistic medium, such as printmaking or videography. Students work with Blaffer staff and University of Houston students to create art, study current exhibitions and take field trips to local museums and galleries. The program finishes with a final project which is displayed in a museum exhibition and the top two students in the program win college scholarships.
Education
Education programs are central to Blaffer Art Museum's mission to serve as a resource for the study of art, art history and other related disciplines. By extending the educational and scholarly programs of the University to the community, the museum promotes learning as a continuous process, linking contemporary ideas and people. Through a broad range of programs, Blaffer presents enriching museum experiences while providing arts education opportunities for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
