SFMOMA Family Sunday; photo: Myleen Hollero/Orange Photography
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is pleased to announce a new lineup of family programming for the winter 2012 season. Every Sunday in January (excluding January 1), February, and March, the museum galleries and family studio will be loaded with activities that encourage kids and families to engage with modern art and one another. The theme of the season is “Back to Basics,” focusing on lines, colors, and shapes. Led by SFMOMA educators and guest artists, Family Sunday programs are designed to spark experimentation and creativity, and to develop critical thinking skills.
On March 4, 2012, SFMOMA will host a Free Family Day, inviting families to take part in inventive art projects, hands-on gallery activities, and family fun—all free of admission.
Family Sundays
Every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Note: SFMOMA will be closed to the public on Sunday, January 1)
Adult admission: $18; kids 12 and under are always free.
Studio Activity
Texture Tangrams
Families will experiment with shape and color while collaboratively creating abstract compositions. Two long walls of the studio will be covered in felt and serve as canvases. Families will have various shapes and colors of felt to use, and will be encouraged to create both representational and abstract images.
Gallery Activities
Color Lapping
Moderators will provide a variety of different materials for families to integrate in their color experimentations. Using the works in the landscape room on the second floor as inspiration, families can layer colored cellophane and torn paper inside colored “pockets” to work with the limitless varieties of color combinations. Emphasis will be placed on finding colors and shapes within the works on view that might work well in children and families’ compositions.
Looming Lines
Families will explore weaving with felt, pipe cleaners, and construction paper using a small personal felt loom/frame. Moderators will encourage families to look at the way 2010 SECA Award–winning artist Ruth Laskey transforms lines with colors and weaving techniques.
Shape Folding
In the sculpture garden, families will transform different lengths and shapes of paper into “large-scale” sculptures. By folding paper in different ways, families will explore basic concepts of scale and shape. If desired, Moderators will provide small-scale figurines for families to pose within their creations, as they were “placing” their work in the sculpture garden. Families may photograph with their mobile devices.
Family Day
Museum admission is FREE
Sunday, March 4, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
All the Time
Free Family Resources at SFMOMA:
• Country Dog Gentlemen Gallery Game
• Family Guides (also at sfmoma.org/families)
• Not Your Ordinary Treasure Hunt
• Country Dog Gentlemen Travel to Extraordinary Worlds interactive feature (also at sfmoma.org/families)
• Koret Center Family Lounge and Children’s Library
SFMOMA Family Membership
SFMOMA now offers a Family membership that provides a year of access to SFMOMA’s exciting exhibitions and family-friendly programming, plus exclusive benefits and special treats designed just for families. For more information, see sfmoma.org/membership.
About SFMOMA and Families
Since SFMOMA opened its current Mario Botta building in 1995, the museum collection has more than doubled in size, annual attendance has tripled, family programs have increased fivefold, and teacher-training programs have increased sixfold. Over 68,000 students come through SFMOMA’s doors each year, and 37,000 families with children ages 4 to 11 enjoy SFMOMA’s resources annually. Since 2008, with the support of seed grants from The Wallace Foundation, SFMOMA has furthered its commitment to families by creating a suite of family-friendly materials available for free every day both onsite and online. These include a new mobile game for families, family guides based on specific artists in SFMOMA’s collection, and the children’s library in the Koret Center Family Lounge.
Major support for family programs is provided by The Wallace Foundation and Target.
Major support for school, youth, and family programs is provided by the Wells Fargo Foundation, the Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation, Bank of America, and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. Generous support is provided by The Charles Schwab Corporation. Additional support is provided by Gap Inc., The McGraw-Hill Companies, McKesson Foundation, The Morrison & Foerster Foundation, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Restoration Hardware, Vodafone Americas Foundation, Bingham McCutchen, and Loomis, Sayles & Company, LP.