By Laura Scarfo
Feathers, glitter and ribbon were everywhere as several small but scary monsters took over the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography on Sunday – a sure sign that Halloween is fast approaching.
The museum held its annual Black Magic Sunday where mask-making and spooky stories were the order of the day.
“We’re trying to make the museum more fun because it’s not some place young people usually come to,” says Lynda Fish, co-ordinator of education and public programs for the museum and the National Gallery.
For $5 per family, parents and children made hand-held masks out of magazine photographs and other art and craft materials. They could also participate in a scavenger hunt with children searching for items hidden in the photographs of an exhibit. Cookies and storytelling ended the afternoon on a spooky note.
“Does that look scary?” Cullen Knes-Gray, 5, asked his mother as he held up his mask. His mother, Rosemary Knes, agrees that his mask is indeed “very scary.” She says she and her son consulted the newspaper where they happened upon the listing for this event.
“I think there’s really a lot to do for kids out there – Ottawa is a really child-friendly city,” she says.
Jacob Harris, also 5, has a very specific purpose for his mask.
“I want him to look like Oxide (a video game character). He doesn’t look like him exactly but I tried my best,” he says.
His mother, Renuka Harris, brought him here because her son has a budding interest in photography.
“Both my children enjoy taking pictures with the little disposable cameras,” she says.
Sunday’s selected exhibit was by Canadian photographer Pierre Boogaerts, whose photographs centered around highrise buildings and blue skies. Participants closely examined his photographs for the listed items.
Fish says the education in the activities is hidden.
“The kids are looking at art but also having fun. They start to see that art can be fun even though the museum seems like a serious place where you can’t touch things,” she says.
She also says the involvement of parents is very important.
“Today, parents come out to all these family programs,” she says. “We now have a generation of parents who want their children exposed to the arts and culture, among other things.”
She says museums today are a lot more family-oriented than they once were. According to Fish, a recent statistic stated that the majority of people only go to the museum twice in their lifetime: once on a school outing and once as a parent.
“I don’t believe that’s accurate anymore,” she says. “But, in order to gain that audience, we have to reach out to the younger generation now not tomorrow.”
The response to her programby parents has been positive. Fish regularly asks the participants for their feedback.
“One man wrote that we should continue this program because it exposes children to art,” she says. “Another comment, from a child, said ‘you make really good cookies.’”
FACT BOX:
What’s new: Family Sundays at the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography allow children to learn that art can be fun.
What it means: The event is part of an attempt by the museum to capture a younger audience and change its image.
What’s next: The museum also holds activities for singles and will be holding Christmas events for children on a Sunday in December.
Story Idea: The next story could be about how the activities for single adults is helping to change the image of the museum.