July 15, 2011
Defining moment: Young artists and curators invite public to open house for a celebration of art
Everyone is invited to define a line at an open house celebrating two youth programs at Kansas State University's Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.
The free event will be from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 30. The open house will feature an exhibition organized by the Young Curators, a group of seven 11- and 12-year-old students participating in the new summer program, as well as the work of the Young Artists, a group of 6-12-year old students who created artwork inspired by the museum's art collection.
The Young Curators participants chose the theme, "The defining line," as well as the works of art from the museum's permanent collection that are featured during the exhibition.
"We all worked together during June to make an exhibition from the paintings and sculptures already on display at the museum and organized the events that will go on throughout the open house," said Young Curator participant Emily Armbrust.
The participants also created a brochure and developed educational activities for the open house, including a tour.
"During the tours, you will be guided by one of the Young Curators through the exhibition," said participant Joy Gruenbacher. "You will learn about each of the works of art and how each of them go with the theme."
Open house attendees can also create their own art.
"There will be an art activity open to any age," said Young Curator participant Ella Bahr. "This activity encourages the use of lines in art. We want people to come show us their artistic abilities and have fun while doing it."
The second part of the program includes creations of art by the Young Artists. After a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum and a tour of "The defining line" exhibit, they chose a single work of art that inspired them.
"The Young Artists had an opportunity to experiment with a variety of professional art media, then chose one piece of their work for exhibition, which is accompanied by an artist's statement," said Kathrine Schlageck, senior educator at the Beach Museum of Art.
"The defining line" is on display until July 31. The students' pieces of art will be available for viewing July 28-31 at the Beach Museum of Art's UMB Theater.
The Young Curators and Young Artists programs provide real-life museum and art career experiences for children, teens and pre-teens. The programs are funded through a Youth Impacting the Community grant from the Manhattan Community Foundation. Alexandra Sager, a recent Manhattan High School graduate, was hired through the grant as an assistant instructor.
For more information on the Beach Museum of Art, contact Martha Scott at 785-532-7718 or drop by the museum on the southeast corner of the K-State campus at 14th Street and Anderson Avenue. Free visitor parking is available next to the building. Normal museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The museum is closed Mondays.