In-person and Online Events for Children and Teens
October 9 — November 20, 2021
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces its fall 2021 family programs, both in-person and online every Saturday from October 9 through November 20:
- Family Saturdays: a series of in-person multigenerational creative collaborations at the Museum geared toward kids 5 and older with an adult companion, usually from 1 to 2:30 pm.
- Teen Open Studios: a series of in-person workshops in which Skidmore College Educator Interns lead teens from 13 to 18 in exploring and creating artworks in response to social justice ideas such as race, gender and identity, usually from 3 to 4:30 pm
- Tang at Home Studio: a series of online workshops that brings the Family Saturday experience into participant’s homes via Zoom. Session run from 11 a.m. to noon.
Details for each of our three programs are below. All programs include looking at art in an exhibition or from the Tang collection, discussing and sharing ideas, and engaging in a hands-on art activity inspired by those conversations. Fall exhibitions include Opener 33: Sarah Cain—Enter the Center, Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards, Elevator Music 41: Laura Ortman—Dust Dives Alive,and Un-Representation.
All programs are free and all materials are provided. Registration is required for all events, as space is limited. For the health and safety of all participants at in-person events, proof of vaccination is required for those 12 and older and masks are required for all regardless of vaccination status.
For more information, please call the Visitors Services Desk at 518-580-8080 or visit the Tang website at http://tang.skidmore.edu.
FAMILY SATURDAYS — DETAILS
The Tang’s long-running Family Saturday programs return this fall for in-person events. The free programs run from October 9 through November 20, from 1 to 2:30 pm (except for October 16, when a drop-in art activity will be available to all from 2 to 3:30 pm). The sessions are suitable for children ages 5 and older, accompanied by their adult companions.
Registration is required and limited to five families, so register early. You can register beginning one week before each program. Registration closes at 3 pm on the Friday before a program. To register, call the Tang Visitor Services Desk at 518-580-8080.
The Tang welcomes visitors of all abilities. Be prepared to get messy and have fun!
Share your Family Saturday photos on social media by including #tangfamsat.
October 9: Healing and Abstraction
We will take a deep dive into the abstract works of three Black artists in Un-Representation, an exhibition focused on providing a space of healing for the Black community. We will explore the works through sound and guided meditation recordings and experience how abstraction can be open spaces for expression which can be meditative and healing. We will then use our discussion of that space to create abstract artworks that allow us to be present in the process of making.
October 16: Drop-in Art Activity: Hands Full of Color and Sound (2-3:30 pm)
Come in for a drop-in art-making activity during Skidmore’s Celebration Weekend inspired by Sarah Cain’s exhibition Enter the Center. Take a walk in the exhibition and join us at the art-making table to create your own colorful music sheet collaged artwork! The event runs from 2 to 3:30 pm.Registration is not required. All ages and abilities welcome!
October 23: Crocheting Corals
Join us for a special workshop where we will be crocheting corals for the community-made Saratoga Springs Satellite Reef, part of the worldwide Crochet Coral Reef project by Christine and Margaret Wertheim and the Institute for Figuring. No experience necessary and all materials will be provided!
October 30: Collision of Music and Pictures
Come take a ride in our oversized elevator and listen to the music compilation that White Mountain Apache artist Laura Ortman composed and recorded in her apartment in Brooklyn. We will use our ears and try to capture which sounds are coming through the art piece, as well as decipher the reflective mosaic-like panels that accompany Ortman’s music. Then we will make our own artworks that channel Ortman’s installation!
November 6: Think Big!
After looking at collaged postcards made by Ellsworth Kelly, on display in Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards, we will discuss how he used those postcards to play with ideas of space, shape, color and scale, which informed his larger works. Our ideas will help us create our own 3-D sculptures as we imagine what we would like to see out in the world!
November 13: Quilt Your Stories
This week, we will explore the textile piece Aaniin czhichigeYan what are You doing by Ojibwe artist Gina Adams from the Tang collection who sees the practice of artmaking as a ritual where the making of objects teaches us about who we are and all the stories that comes with it. Inspired by Adams’ piece, we will create our own “quilt” where we reflect about our stories and what we hope for the future!
November 20: Dance ’til you Drop!
Join us for a special day with Skidmore College Dance students who will lead movement workshops in response to works in our galleries! Be sure to wear clothes that allow you to move freely and comfortably.
TEEN OPEN STUDIO — DETAILS
Come hang out with our Skidmore College Education Interns to explore and create artworks in response to social justice ideas such as race, gender and identity! Learn about artists from a diverse range of backgrounds and get inspired to learn to use your own voice through artmaking to create change for a better world.
Teen Open Studios meet on most Saturdays from October 9 through November 20 from 3 to 4:30 pm and are geared toward those age 13 to 18. All skills and abilities are welcome. Attendance is free. Materials are provided, but feel free to bring your own supplies.
Registration is required. Space is limited, so register early. Registration opens the Monday before each session and closes at 3 pm on the Friday before each workshop.
Please note that on October 16, there will be a drop-in art-making activity from 2 to 3:30 pm, inspired by Opener 33: Sarah Cain—Enter the Center, and on November 20, Skidmore College students from the Dance Department will lead a movement workshop.
Please call the Tang Visitors Services Desk to register at 518-580-8080.
TANG AT HOME STUDIO — DETAILS
You’re invited to our spring Tang at Home Studio series! These online art activities bring the Tang experience into your home to ensure your and our staff’s health and safety.
Tang at Home Studio gives kids and their families the chance to explore their creativity, make new things, and share their artwork with peers! Each online session, which occur every Saturday at 11 am from October 9 through November 20, includes a guided exploration of an artwork, information about the artist, and a hands-on art project led by Sunny Ra, The Laurie M. Tisch Educator for K-12 and Community Programs, with assistance from Skidmore College student interns.
How does it work?
You can register now on the Tang website for the first session on October 9. After that, you can register on the Monday before a Saturday session. Then you can explore, learn, and prepare materials. On the Saturday from 11 am to noon, we will gather on Zoom to discuss our ideas about the artwork, engage in an art-making activity, and share our creations!
To ensure a fun sharing environment, registration is required. The sessions are best suited for kids ages 5-12 and their adult companions, but everyone is welcome! For the best experience, we recommend logging in via computer instead of a mobile device, if possible. This will enhance each participant’s ability to view artwork and videos, and to engage in community conversations with one other.
How do I register?
Register for the first session now on the Tang website. For following sessions, a link to register will be posted on the Tang website at http://tang.skidmore.edu on Monday for that week’s session. Registration is free. To register, you will be asked for your name, email address, the number of participants, the name or names of your child or children, their ages, and your ZIP code. Once you register, you will receive project instructions, a list of materials, and a link to Saturday’s Zoom meeting. Register early, as space is limited.
Questions?
Contact Tang Museum Educator Sunny Ra via email at sra@skidmore.edu.
October 9: Chillin’ with Liberty
This week, we will take a close look at Renée Cox’s Chillin’ with Liberty. We will discuss the work, what the Statue of liberty symbolizes, and what liberty means. Then we will create our own artwork that explores ideas of liberty, equality and inclusivity!
October 16: Communities in Action
This week, we will take a close look at a photograph by Isaac Scott. We will discuss what it means to stand up for justice, what community looks like, and what it means to celebrate one another. How do we express joy? How do we feel when we dance, sing and laugh? Then we will create our own celebration piece!
October 23: Vivid Inspiration
This week, we will take a close look at works by Mississippi Chocktaw-Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson. What is he trying to express and communicate using these colorful, vibrant, multimedia works? We will explore Gibson’s piece in the Tang collection alongside his other works and then create our own inspired mixed-media pieces!
October 30: Drawing Language
This week, we will take a close look at the installation piece that Nigerian-born artist Victor Ekpuk created at the Tang in the exhibition Sixfold Symmetry: Pattern in Art and Science. After watching a short video clip, we will learn about the ideas behind Ekpuk’s work and about Afro-futurism and how it connects to the Black Panther movie. Then we will draw our own language!
November 6: Expressive Suits
This week we will explore several of Nick Cave’s Soundsuits that have been exhibited at the Tang and what ideas he was thinking about when creating these dynamic, wearable pieces. Our discussion will be our inspiration for thinking about what soundsuits we would create and what they could mean when worn out in the world! Don’t forget to come to the workshop wearing your favorite outfit!
November 13: Weave Your Story
This week we will explore a textile piece by Gina Adams from the Tang collection titled Aaniin czhichigeYan what are You doing. Adams’ work is inspired by conversations with her aunt and her nephew about their Ojibwe language and relearning about their histories through artmaking. We will think about and create our own “quilt” that reflects our own familial histories and maybe weave new traditions and stories through this artwork, too!
November 20: Shake it Up!
This week, we will have special guests, Skidmore College Dance students, who will lead us in a movement workshop inspired by artworks currently on view at the Tang! Get ready to move and wear clothes that are comfortable to dance in!
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