The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces its Spring 2019 Family Saturdays, a series of multigenerational creative collaborations each Saturday from February 16 through April 13.
Each program includes looking at artwork in the museum’s spring exhibitions, discussing and sharing ideas, and engaging in a hands-on art activity inspired by those conversations. The spring exhibitions include Elevator Music 38: Bioni Samp – Digital Beehvive, Like Sugar, The Second Buddha: Master of Time, and The Shelf.
The free programs run from 2:00 to 3:30 PM and are suitable for children ages 5 and older, accompanied by their adult companions.
Registration is required. You can register beginning one week before each program. To register, call the Tang’s Visitors Services Desk at 518-580-8080.
The Tang welcome visitors of all abilities. Be prepared to get messy and have fun!
SPRING 2019 FAMILY SATURDAYS
February 16: Let’s Have Dessert!
Inspired by the work of Sharon Core in the exhibition Like Sugar, we will create our own desserts using felt, cupcake liners, pom poms, tissue paper, sequins and gelato spoons!
February 23: Your Story
After discussing works in The Second Buddha: Master of Time exhibition, we will think about the concept of striving to be the best that we can be. How do we grow and learn to better ourselves every day? Using materials such as cardstock paper, pipe cleaners, collage, markers and tissue paper, we will create our own 3-D rendering of what inspires us to be the best person in this world and what our perfect world would look like!
March 2: Beehive Buzz
After discussing work in the Like Sugar exhibition and Elevator Music 38: Bioni Samp – Digital Beehvive, we will think about natural forms of sugar such as honey. Using paper, markers, construction paper and wiggly eyes, we will imagine and create our own beehives, buzz buzz!
March 9: Lotus Pond
In The Second Buddha: Master of Time exhibition, we learn about the story of Padmasambhava or Lotus Born. Using this story and the image of the lotus flower floating on water, we will create our own lotus ponds with colored paper, acetate, paint pens, tissue paper and pompoms.
March 16: Menagerie on a Shelf
In the exhibition The Shelf, a variety of objects from the Tang collection are displayed. Looking at each object, we will think about why these works are shown side by side. What do they have in common? Why do people collect things and hold onto them? In that spirit, we will create our own menagerie on a shelf using cardboard, model magic, pipe cleaners and an assortment of embellishments!
March 23: Time Travel
Inspired by the concept of time in The Second Buddha: Master of Timeexhibition, we will create time capsules full of keepsakes and visions of present day that we want to share with future generations. What would you want to take to the future?
March 30: Treat Yourself
Inspired by the Like Sugar exhibition and thinking about all the forms of sugar that exists today, we will use candy imagery to create our names using paper, collage, pom poms, popsicle sticks and more!
April 6: Prayer Flags
Inspired by Tibetan prayer flags, we will think about what messages we would want to spread across the globe! Using stamps, ink, markers, collage, paper and yarn, we will create our own prayer flags that we will string together and make ready to hang!
April 13: Strike a Pose!
Can artwork come to life? Yes, it can! In collaboration with Skidmore Dance students Hannah Haines ’19 and Emily Gunter ’19, we will explore the Tang’s collection through dance. As we look at sculptures and paintings, we will discover ways to transform the stories they tell into movement. This Family Saturday session will culminate with a special preview of Hannah and Emily’s new dance creations and an excerpt from the Translation and Transformation: Mythology in Choreography event happening in the Payne Presentation Room that weekend.
About the Tang Teaching Museum
The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York's Capital Region, the institution's approach has become a model for university art museums across the country—with exhibition programs and series that bring together the visual and performing arts with fields of study as disparate as history, astronomy, and physics. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, the Mellon Seminar, and robust publication and touring exhibition initiatives that extend the institution's reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum's building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of ideas and exchange the institution catalyzes. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, from noon to 5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm Thursday. More information at http://tang.skidmore.edu.
