On April 6th, Boston Children’s Museum will celebrate 100 years of collaborating with families by holding our Centennial Family Fest, a day in which we will celebrate families, the Museum, and all that we do together. From 10:30 – 4:30 in the Art Studio that day we will highlight families collaborating together through an interactive installation called “Paper World” that will be created by you, our visitors. Come create something (anything at all!) to add to our imaginary world. It can be very small, very large or anywhere in between…we will be cutting paper, using tape and adding each creation to our world! What will you add? What do you think our world needs? Where will you add it?
Why collaborate? We collaborate a lot in the Art Studio. Collaboration invites visitors, young and old, to work together and to see that their actions impact the whole. Through collaboration, children learn how to negotiate space and let go, and collaboration helps children to develop both relational skills and emotional intelligence. These are life skills, and they go beyond art making and creating. We also think that collaboration is an invaluable practice for families to engage in together. Along with the skills developed through collaborating, working together also builds understanding, respect and communication among family members. And collaborating makes most things a whole lot more enjoyable.
So what exactly is “installation art”, then? Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. (Thanks Wikipedia!)
Check out some of these paper installations created by different artists:
Eunjeong Lee’s installation “There is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper.”
Interior of paper installation art by Paul Hayes
Argentinian artist Pablo Lehmann has created an apartment made entirely out of recycled paper.
The Power of Play 