3 museum directors to speak at the Peristyle

Museum directors from Detroit, Cleveland, and Toledo will discuss the past and futures of their venerable institutions at a free 6 p.m. talk Wednesday in the Toledo Museum of Art's Peristyle. In addition, parking and admission to exhibitions (The Baroque World of Fernando Botero and The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb), will be free that day.

The three museums were established by wealthy patrons around the same time (Toledo in 1901, Cleveland in 1913, and Detroit in 1885), have strong traditional collections, and are wrestling with economic downturns and changing populations. And none of the three men who lead them were born in the United States. Toledo's Brian Kennedy is a native of Dublin; Detroit's Graham Beal was born in Britain at Stratford-on-Avon, and Cleveland's David Franklin is from Quebec.

May 18 was designated International Museum Day by the International Council of Museums in 1977 to increase public awareness of the role museums play in society. This year, museums throughout the world are offering programs about how they "store memory" through the objects in their collections and how these objects tell stories about their communities. The Peristyle's doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

On the same day, people can have their photographs taken in the Swiss Room from noon to 1 p.m., 2 to 3 p.m., and 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

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Angelwood Gallery will host a 6 to 8:30 p.m. reception Saturday, featuring new work and new artists and celebrating its 18th anniversary. Featured will be functional ceramics by shop owner Julie A. Beutler, along with the work of many others. The current exhibit, Delight, will continue through June 10. The gallery is at 24195 Front St. in Grand Rapids. Information: 419-832-0625 and angelwoodartgallery.com.

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The first, free Art Walk of 2011 will be 6 to 9 p.m. May 19 featuring nearly 20 studios, galleries, eateries, and offices, along with street performers, many of them in the south end of downtown near Fifth Third Field. Participating will be Shared Lives Studios, 20 North Gallery, Sur Saint Clair Gallery, Jack Wilson Gallery, the offices of architect Paul R. Sullivan, Homeslice Pizza, Downtown Latte, Swank Gifts, Bozarts, Secor Studios, Space 237, Toledo City Paper offices, Glass City Cafe, Truth Gallery, Collingwood Arts Center, and others. Art Walks will be held on the third Thursday of the month through September and are coordinated by the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. Maps will be available at all venues and at acgt.org. Information: 419-254-2787.

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Screenprints by Jane E. Goldman are on display until May 28 at the Hudson Gallery in Sylvania.

A 5 to 8 p.m. reception is Thursday night for Massachusetts painter and printmaker Jane E. Goldman in the Hudson Gallery. Goldman's screenprints were inspired by the nature paintings of John James Audubon, and were printed in as many as 18 colors on large, high-quality paper. They'll be shown until May 28 in the gallery at 5645 North Main St. in Sylvania.

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A reception for John Walz, showing his photographs at the Collingwood Arts Center, will be 7 to 10 p.m. Friday in the center at 2413 Collingwood Blvd. Walz teaches photography at Owens Community College. His images will be displayed through the end of May.

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Sixty-seven wood and ceramic pots decorated by students and artists will be on view Monday through May 23 in downtown Sylvania as part of Potting Pretty in Sylvania. Landscapers will design floral creations for some pots and growers will sell flowers during a 4 to 8 p.m. event May 19, when the best-of-show pot will be judged and an auction of pots will be held. Activities will take place from Main to Maplewood streets.

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Bonita Bead Boutique, 215 Conant St., Maumee, displays gemstone beads through May 21. Information: 419-887-4000.

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Portraits by Jodi Olthouse will be displayed through June 3 in the University of Findlay's Lea Gallery in the Virginia B. Gardner Fine Arts Pavilion in Findlay. A classically trained realist, Olthouse specializes in portraiture and works in oils, watercolor, and charcoal. She's a Findlay native.

Items for News of Art should be sent at least two weeks before the event to tlane@theblade.com.