Celebrating with family in a meaningful way ............................................................................
The Holiday Celebration on Dec. 3 at the MacKenzie Art Gallery could be described as the perfect family event. “It’s a really great way to bring everybody together in one big way,” says Nicolle Nugent, the gallery’s coordinator of Public Programs and Community Engagement. “I think it’s important to have opportunities for families to be able to spend really quality time together where they’re learning together and they are experiencing and discovering together.”
The MacKenzie’s commitment to strengthening families is demonstrated in its programming for the event, which is designed so that all members of the family – from tots to grandparents – may experience art in various ways.
At a puppet-making workshop, for example, participants will create three-dimensional paper snowman puppets. Those puppets will later be used in a storytelling activity in the gallery: as the facilitator reads, the snowmen become part of the story. “It’s about engaging children and families in the process of art-making and experiencing the connections between art-making and story,” ex-
plains Nugent.
When visitors enter the MacKenzie, they will be greeted in the lobby by the rousing sounds John’s Lowdown Christmas Tuba Extravaganza, a troupe of approximately 15 tuba players. “It’s really awesome. It’s beautiful,” says Nugent.
Other entertainment will be provided by The Preschool Fine Arts Cooperative, which will present the children’s annual concert at 1 p.m. Additional youth performances will be offered during the afternoon.
Throughout the event, which runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., hot chocolate and other treats will be served in the north salon, and there will be tours of the gallery’s exhibits. Various exhibits explore personal identities, and some of the day’s hands-on activities will relate to that theme. There will be an art-inspired photo booth and a workshop to make individual frames that represent the people in the photos. Another ongoing theme at the MacKenzie is “home,” and a large, collaborative piece of artwork relating to home will be created in the learning centre that afternoon.
“We always look at our exhibition program and create opportunities and experiences for families that align with the themes in the exhibition so that they can experience the exhibitions in a new and engaging way,” say Nugent.
While there are many activities for children, they are designed to be experienced with adults. “The day is not designed for parents to drop their kids off; it’s designed to really engage everybody in the family and we do get different generations coming. We get grandparents coming with grand children — everybody can participate, and that’s important to us,” says Nugent.
The three-hour event will be very engaging. “There aren’t any lag times, so it’s just one thing after the other, which is kind of dynamic and fun. We really make it so it’s easy to move through the spaces and, even though we may get 500 people that day, it doesn’t ever feel like that because you are moving around and there are lots of options,” says Nugent. “We really are excited about what we are able to do at the MacKenzie, and it’s a unique afternoon that isn’t the same as other celebrations. It’s a beautiful day – it really is.”