This week I had an introductory meeting with Sarah L. and Leia and got to know a little more about how I’ll be assisting with Free First Saturday (FFS) and Sensory Friendly Sunday (SFS) throughout the next few months, what kind of activities they have done in the past– and what’s planned for this year so far.
On Saturday, I attended FFS to observe the activities that were arranged. I have always struggled to navigate museums architecturally; I get lost in them easily. Needless to say that even with a map and very clear directions, I did manage to get lost in the building for a moment! But once I got my bearings– I drifted around the activities to observe the interactions families were having.
There was an iPad drawing station, as well as a space to draw a portrait of a loved one, both inspired by David Hockney’s exhibition, People, Places, & Things. Both of the drawing activities were less busy when I was floating around in those areas. In the Mediatheque, there was a Japanese stop motion short film called Om Nom Nom playing on a loop, which was personally my favorite part of the experience. It follows the story of a dinosaur who eats a mysterious egg, which hatches in their stomach and gives them a stomach ache– it’s very entertaining. I was alone the first time it played, which was probably good because I was snickering audibly. By the time the loop was starting over, 3-4 children and their adults came in, and it was amazing to listen to the kids reacting to the film, the adults reacting to the film, and then the conversations and laughter shared between them.
Before I left I also explored the galleries, since I hadn’t been there on my own before and had the opportunity to take my time with some of the works on display, and I really enjoyed spending a longer time with Julie Mehretu’s work, which I hadn’t seen in person since it was in the High Museum of Art in Atlanta– it was just as stunning as I remembered!
I’m really excited to work more closely with the families showing up for Free First Saturday and to witness all the beautiful artwork being made!