The Art Institute of Chicago. North View of Michigan Avenue Facade, Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

NEW YORK, NY.- Over 100 art museums across North America will offer free or reduced admission, special programs, or other initiatives as part of their celebrations of Art Museum Day on May 18, 2011. These museums-all members of theAssociation of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), and located across the United States, Canada, and Mexico-include smaller regional museums as well as leading international institutions. AAMD's Art Museum Day coincides with International Museum Day, organized annually around the world by the International Council of Museums. Participation by AAMD member museums emphasizes the lasting impact art museums have on their communities, highlights the value of the visual arts in society, and provides a range of opportunities for audiences to engage with the diverse programs that art museums offer.

“Art museums provide a unique and irreplaceable public service, offering some of the best expressions of human creativity in ways that engage the mind and stimulate the senses," said Kaywin Feldman, President of AAMD and Director and President of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. “With Art Museum Day, AAMD and its members again join this global celebration of the incredible collections and programs at museums around the world, and their commitment to public service and audience engagement."

AAMD members participating in International Museum Day in 2011 include:

Amon Carter Museum • Art Gallery of Ontario • Art Institute of Chicago • Aspen Art Museum • Birmingham Museum of Art • Brandywine River Museum • Brooklyn Museum of Art • Bronx Museum of Art • Butler Museum of American Art • Carnegie Museum of Art • Cleveland Museum of Art • Columbus Museum • Columbus Museum of Art • Crocker Art Museum • Currier Museum of Art • David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art • Dayton Art Institute • Delaware Art Museum • Des Moines Art Center • Dixon Gallery and Gardens • El Paso Museum of Art • Flint Institute of Arts • Fred Jones, Jr. Museum of Art • Frist Center for the Visual Arts • Georgia Museum of Art • Guggenheim Museum • Hammer Museum • Harvard Art Museums • Henry Art Gallery • High Museum of Art • Hudson River Museum • Indianapolis Museum of Art • Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia • J. Paul Getty Museum • Japan Society Gallery • Jewish Museum • Joslyn Museum of Art • Kimbell Art Museum • Lowe Art Museum • Madison Museum of Contemporary Art • McNay Art Museum • Meadows Museum, SMU • Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester • Memphis Brooks Museum of Art • Metropolitan Museum of Art • Miami Art Museum • Michael C. Carlos Museum • Minneapolis Institute of Arts • Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth • Montclair Art Museum • Museo de Arte de Ponce • Museo Dolores Olmedo • Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale • Museum of Arts and Design • Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston • Museum of Glass • Museum of Modern Art • Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University • Nasher Sculpture Center • National Museum of Wildlife Art • Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art • New Orleans Museum of Art • Norman Rockwell Museum • North Carolina Museum of Art • Peabody Essex Museum • Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts • Phoenix Art Museum • Portland (Oregon) Art Museum • Princeton University Art Museum • Saint Louis Art Museum • Salvador Dali Museum • Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art • San Antonio Museum of Art • San Jose Museum of Art • Seattle Art Museum • Smith College Museum of Art • Snite Museum of Art • Speed Art Museum • Spelman College Museum of Fine Art • Spencer Museum of Art • Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute • Studio Museum in Harlem • Tacoma Art Museum • Taft Museum of Art • Tampa Museum of Art • Telfair Museum of Art • The Ackland Art Museum • The Menil Collection • The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts • The Morgan Library and Museum • The Noguchi Museum • The Phillips Collection • The Wolfsonian • Toledo Museum of Art • Utah Museum of Fine Arts • Vero Beach Museum of Art • Virginia Museum of Fine Arts • Wadsworth Atheneum • Walker Art Center • Walters Art Museum • Westmoreland Museum of American Art • Whitney Museum of American Art • Wichita Art Museum • Worcester Art Museum • Yale University Art Gallery