Join us for Third Thursdays–a free, monthly themed event that features extended hours (until 9 PM), multiple programs including Yoga in the Galleries, the Blanton Book Club, and tours, among other offerings.
Programs are included with admission and are free to members, unless noted. Thursdays are always free at the Blanton.
For more information on events please visit our calendar. Be sure to visit our Blanton Book Club page for upcoming selections.
Public Tours
The museum offers themed tours on the collection and special exhibitions every Saturday and Sunday at 3 PM, every Thursday at 12:30 PM, Third Thursday at 7:30 PM, and during B scene.
JANUARY
The Blanton's Bach Cantata
Tuesday, January 31, 12 noon
A collaboration between The Blanton and the Butler School of Music. UT students and faculty present Bach’s Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin BWV 125. Followed by a discussion on a Blanton artwork selected to coincide with the concert.
Media sponsor: KMFA 89.5 FM
FEBRUARY
Blanton Perspectives: Go West!
Thursday, February 2, 12:30PM
Lester Faigley, the Robert Adger Law and Thos. H. Law Centennial Professor in Humanities at UT Austin, on Visualizing the West in the Global Imagination: From the Garden of Eden to the Oil Derrick in the current exhibition, Go West!
The Blanton's SoundSpace: MUSICIRCUS
Saturday, February 4, 2PM
In celebration of his 100th birthday, The Blanton presents John Cage's MUSICIRCUS, bringing together musicians, dancers, and performance artists from Austin's artistic community. First performed in 1967, MUSICIRCUS is a cacophony of simultaneous performances, determined by chance distribution. Embedded within this presentation will be the works of Cage, his contemporaries, and artists directly influenced by him.
Organized by Steven Parker, Blanton Museum Artist-in-Residence and graduate student in performance art in the UT Butler School of Music.
Blanton Perspectives
Thursday, February 9, 12:30PM
Blanton curator Ursula Davila-Villa on contemporary Cuban art.
Third Thursday
Thursday, February 16, 5 - 9PM
Join us for our monthly free evening of art and activities. Enjoy an extended happy hour in The Blanton Café featuring a glass of wine and a slice of gourmet pizza for $5.
6PM Cildo Meireles: Curator Tour and Screening
As part of Ballet Austin’s citywide exploration of human rights, Light/ The Holocaust & Humanity Project, The Blanton will screen Gerald Fox’s award-winning 50-minute documentary, Cildo Meireles (2008), on the influential Brazilian artist’s life and work. Followed by a tour with curator Ursula Davila-Villa.

6:30PM Yoga in the Galleries*
7PM Book Club: Way to Rainy Mountain by M. Scott Momaday
7:30PM Public Tour
*Attendance at yoga is limited to 28 people. Passes are given on a first come, first served basis at the Visitor Services Desk starting at 5:30PM.
Media sponsor: Univision
Special Screening at Violet Crown Cinema: Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow
Starting Friday, February 17
Violet Crown Cinema will screen this critically acclaimed documentary by Sophie Fiennes on artist Anselm Kiefer, whose work Sternenfall (Falling Stars), 1998, is a part of The Blanton's collection on view in the galleries. Present your Violet Crown ticket stub for $2 off museum admission during the screening week. Blanton members receive $2 off tickets to the film at Violet Crown (bring your membership card for discount). Located at 434 West 2nd Street in downtown Austin.
Artist Talk: Jose Toirac
Thursday, February 23, 12:30PM
As part of The Blanton's Perspective Series, artist Jose Toirac will lead a talk on contemporary Cuban art and his own work in the galleries.
Funding for this program is provided by the Barbara Duncan Centennial Endowed Lectureship.
Members-Only Preview Day
Saturday, February 25, 11AM - 3PM
All Blanton members are invited to preview American Scenery and Go West! Experience the exhibitions on your own or as part of a docent-guided tour.
Bach Cantata
Tuesday, February 28, 12PM
Enjoy beautiful music in The Blanton's Rapoport Atrium. The Bach Cantata is a collaboration between the museum and UT's Butler School of Music. This month: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 BWV 1047 and Erhalt uns Herr, bei deinem Wort BWV 126.
Media sponsor: KMFA, 89.5 FM
Blanton Lecture: Contested Visions in the Spanish Colonial World: Broadening the Canon
Tuesday, February 28, 6PM
Ilona Katzew, head of the Latin American Art department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and curator of their current exhibition, Contested Visions in the Spanish Colonial World, addresses the many ways and contexts in which indigenous peoples were represented through art in Mexico and Peru. Offered in conjunction with Go West!, the talk argues for breaking the barriers between pre-Colombian and colonial art, and examines how we can use objects to tell a story without relegating them to historical props.
Funding for this program is provided by the Carolyn Harris Hynson Centennial Visiting Professorship in Fine Arts.