Jessie Smolinski Photo
On the third floor of the Yale University Art Gallery, a squeaky but sure conversation about Rothko was afoot as a pint-sized New Havener and his mother compared notes on the artist’s No. 3 of 1967.
In the lobby below, YUAG educators Jessica Sack and Elizabeth Williams were handing out color-coded maps and programs in English and Spanish, greeting their smallest visitors as they streamed through the two front doors.
So began Family Day at the Yale University Art Gallery, an annual rite that drew over 1,100 children and parents from around New Haven and Fair Haven. Held on a recent Sunday afternoon, this year’s event was intended to bring in a more diverse audience, something the Gallery has been working toward in their efforts with the New Haven Public Schools and a new after-school teen program. Largely thanks to Sack, the Jan & Frederick Mayer senior associate curator of public education, those efforts delivered, with everything from storytelling to paper-folding and felt and yarn kits.
“The point of a lot of these activities is to offer families a way to interact together in the museum and think about how they can explore art and talk about art together … it’s a great way to start thinking about how the museum can be part of learning, how the museum can be part of family time. I also think it’s a day for the community to come and be in the museum together in an interactive way.” she said.
On the fourth floor, where visitors found a student-curated book arts exhibition and show on Mexican posters, there were breakout sessions to fold paper, think about books, and assemble stories…
…storytelling in the African and Asian galleries …
… some serious one-on-one with gallery teacher Yolanda Richard at Joseph Stella’s Brooklyn Bridge…
.…and a little family time to break down minimalist visual patterns. Because, you know, what else is a Sunday good for?
To find out more about public programming at the Yale University Art Gallery, visit their calendar.
