ARED 2110: Georgia Museum of Art Family Day Reflection

Currently on display at the museum is an exhibit titled "Louise Blair Daura: A Virginian in Paris." Which is very interesting because she is very understudied, this is the first attempt by a museum to fully examine a collection of her work. Pictured above is my favorite piece by her, though her subject manner ranges from still-life, landscape, and portraiture I think her self portraits are particularly astounding.

At family day in the workshops downstairs the children were able to collage newspaper to create colorful vibrant landscapes with scenes of the rolling hills. Modeled after the ones Daura painted during her time in France much like the one pictured below. This was a great activity for children of all ages because the amount of detail could be varied by adding chalk pastels or watercolor.

Another thing the museum education team set up directed more for the older kids was a still life so that they could practice realistic drawings. No kidding, it was the biggest still life set up I have ever seen. Some parents even got into creating drawings from the still life.

I was stationed upstairs in the gallery for the 2 hours of family day. I was there to assist kids on completing their pamphlets about Louise Blair Daura and answer any questions about the exhibit, museum, or family day. On the pamphlet given to the kids were several activities but the most interesting to the kids was the scavenger hunt. It had small snippets of 5 of her artworks and prompted the kids to identify the piece and note the year it was created. The purpose of this was at the end to place the pieces in chronological order and examine how her style changed throughout her life.

The kids had a great time exploring the exhibit and I could tell they were really proud of themselves when they found all 5 pieces. It was great to see the museum used by a different demographic. I think in my mind I imagined the Georgia Museum of Art as a resource only to college students, elderly visitors, and the occasional school field trip. But families of all cultures, ages, and sizes visited the museum Saturday and really seemed to enjoy themselves. Some of the people who came were definitely regulars to GMOA Family Days because they knew their way around the museum almost better than I did.

I really enjoyed working in the museum education setting and I think it is something I would like to do in the future, maybe not as a job but as a volunteer or guide.

#ArtEducation #UGA #GeorgiaMuseumofArt