Following up on it’s first highly successful, “Free for All Saturday” Event in April, Newport Art Museum will once again host a day of family-friendly activities inspired by three new exhibitions currently on view at the Museum: “Dress Code“, “Pride in Retrospect” & “Ana Flores: Shaman Ladders and Other Stories“. Activities for all ages include hands-on art-making, artist demonstrations, drop in educator-led guided tours, live performances, scavenger hunts and more.
As in April, the event is an opportunity to share the work of the Museum’s current Artist-in-Residence with the Newport community. Heather McMordie, the June Artist-in-Residence, will lead an activity perfect for nature lovers of all ages – Origami “Pockets” for Nature Walks. Participants will create a personal folded-paper organic specimen pocket designed to keep safe the flowers, grasses and seeds collected on nature walks. “Heather is an artist who explores soil science and environmental restoration in her art” said Cristin Searles Bilodeau, event organizer and Director of Community Engagement at the Museum, “so the workshop promises to be both educational and fun, with the goal of inspiring future hikes, close observation of the natural world, and specimen collecting.”
Museum admission is free, as are all activities that day, including:
- Anything Goes Dress Up!
Join Museum Educators in designing your own fabulous outfits for our mannequins, inspired by the Dress Code exhibition. Don’t forget to take a photo on our red carpet.
- Educator-led Guided Looking
Explore the Ana Flores: Shaman Ladders and Other Stories exhibition in more detail through family friendly guided looking activities.
- Scavenger Hunts
Enjoy exploring every gallery as you seek out the images in self guided image-based scavenger hunts.
- Native Plants & Corn Husk Dolls
Learn about our native plants and create your own traditional corn husk doll with guidance from Indigenous educators from the Tomaquag Museum, in connection with the Ana Flores: Shaman Ladders and Other Stories exhibition.
- Pollinator Puppet Making
Join Museum Educators and Tricia Bailey of the Newport Garden Club to create an imaginative pollinator stick puppet, while learning about the importance of pollinators to our environment.
- Community Pride Mural
Participate in the creation of a PRIDE inspired mural painting to celebrate Newport Pride, in conjunction with the Pride: In Retrospect exhibition.
- Clay Studio Demos + Sale
Find Museum Educators in the clay studio giving wheel-throwing demonstrations, try hand building, and check out the beautiful ceramics on sale by Museum School ceramicists.
In addition to those activities there will be a number of Free Live Performances throughout the day:
11:30 am Indigenous Storytelling Performance
Silvermoon LaRose (Narragansett/Niantic) of the Tomaquag Museum will give an educational performance that weaves traditional ecological knowledge of Indigenous peoples with the art of storytelling.
1:00 pm Performance with Dress Code Exhibiting Artist Bhen Alan
2:00 pm Live Music with Dragonfly Marie
Featuring Folk duo Valerie Larkin and Mary Ann Rossoni
FREE for ALL Saturday is free for everyone, and all materials are provided. Visitors can RSVP at: https://newportartmuseum.org/
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