New gallery, studio aim to make art family-friendly

By Jeanne Wieland | Editor

The only thing better than getting your kids immersed in art projects is having them take place somewhere else so you don’t have to do the cleanup.

The Milwaukee Art Museum’s new Kohl’s Art Generation Program does just that with a hands-on gallery and art studio where kids can learn about and create art – with the museum staff taking care of the cleanup.

Get a sneak peek at the new gallery

The new space officially opens at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2. It was built with a $1 million gift from Kohl’s Department Stores.

The first exhibition in the new gallery is called “Color Stories,” with all the activities centering around that theme. It is open every day during regular museum hours.

“This exhibit helps kids explore color in fun ways,” Brigid Globensky, senior director of education and public programs at the museum, said. “They can mix colors and explore the emotive side of color.”

The new space includes a mixing table, where children can turn primary colors into secondary colors, fill in color wheels, walk through the Color Corridor and experience other optical illusions that come about as the result of how we perceive color.

The renovated studio area, also part of the Kohl’s Art Generation Program, will be open Saturday as well, although it’s typically open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In addition to the spaces in the museum itself, the Kohl’s Art Generation Program is hitting the road. A mobile art van called Kohl’s Color Wheels has a whole slate of appearances scheduled starting on May 31. The van will be pulling up to community festivals and other events this summer to give kids a chance to do some simple, takeaway art projects such as splatter drawings, animal sculptures and mood paintings.

And wrapping up now is the yearlong School Family Nights, which brought art educators from the museum to local schools throughout the year to showcase the works of Picasso and do hands-on activities with families.

The whole effort is aimed at increasing art education and opportunities for children at a time when dollars for art resources at schools are being stretched.

“We hope the Milwaukee Art Museum does become a bigger draw for families,” Globensky said. “We know that children who are exposed to art both at school and through their families have a rich experience. Young people love being here.”

Globensky said that families often think of a trip to the museum as something they need to set aside an entire day to do, but the more impactful way to use the facility with younger kids is to make shorter, more frequent, visits.

“Short doses are most helpful for kids,” she said.

The new Kohl’s Art Generation features add more family-friendly options to the museum, but there are other things already in place that families might enjoy, too. The museum holds Story Time in the Galleries and Sketching in the Galleries on weekends to connect children to art.

Another fun way to get children excited about the museum is through the use of art packs that can be checked out for use while you’re there. One art pack, for example, is based around costumes. The pack includes pieces of costumes that appear in various artworks in the museum, and the children have to match the pieces to the art.

With so many options and now the new spaces, Globensky said there’s no reason for families to view the museum as a stuffy place.

“There’s a lot of fun things kids can do at the museum,” she said.

For more information on the Milwaukee Art Museum's new Kohl's Art Generation Program, visit http://mam.org/artgeneration/.

See photos of the new space in the museum in our photo gallery.