Task #5




Introduction: Upon visiting Nashville, it was top priority that I made my way to the Frist Art Museum.  With the Frist being an art museum, it held an abundance of art focused learning opportunities - the most anticipated being the Martin ArtQuest gallery.  The Martin ArtQuest gallery is a space dedicated to the making, learning, and experiencing of art. As published in the Tennessean, "Many world class art museums around the world have also used MAQ as a template to design their own family-friendly, interactive spaces, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tate Museum in London, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR and many others" (Baker 2018).

 Martin ArtQuest Gallery Mission and explanation of activities: "The mission of the Martin ArtQuest Gallery (MAQ) is to create a fun and engaging learning environment where visitors of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities experience hands-on activities that promote connections, creativity, and critical thinking...MAQ’s opportunities to explore a range of art-making strategies—drawing, animation, printmaking, painting, and sculpture, each using high-quality materials with the support of professional educators—are accessible to all. MAQ helps participants find their unique talents and voices, celebrate their creative energy, and have fun! MAQ makes each individual’s passion possible and serves as a place of inspiration and immersion."

 Strengths: 

  • Accessibility - This gallery is open 7 days a week until 5:30 pm.  This allows visitors, whether tourists or locals, to create and live as a creator in the gallery and take advantage of its ever changing opportunities. It is also designed for any age - not just children! The staff also offers special accommodations to those with varying abilities. 
  • Options - There are so many opportunities to choose from when it comes to art learning. Choice is a big perk with this gallery and allows children and adults to explore themselves as an artist. 
             > Here is a screenshot from the museum's website (https://fristartmuseum.org/learn/martin-artquest) that details the different art-making stations that are offered to guests.


















Sound Station
Here are a few pictures from my personal visit to the Martin ArtQuest Gallery.  They detail the activites/stations described above.
Everbright board


Drawing Station (featuring a mannequin Frieda Kahlo)

  • Variety - Not only are there many options for art learning and creations when one visits the Martin ArtQuest Gallery, but these experiences are ever-changing.  This keeps return visits exciting and the learning opportunities continuously engaging.   
  • Community - Members of the community come together in this space.  The Frist offers accommodations for schools, camps, and other groups, as well as hosts "Family Night" once a month where families can come to create and learn together. 
  • Online learning opportunities - http://fristkids.org/activities-videos offers art instruction to kids for free.  They choose a category/project they are interested in creating and are instructed how to do so at home. There are several sections of this website.  Kids can click on the categories of "explore", "create", "discover", and "connect" based on what they want to engage with.  






Here is an example of a an activity someone could pick from the "Create" section - "Creating Public Art". It walks the student through step by step and even offers a lesson plan to educators.
  • Cost - Free to individuals 18 and under.  Also offering many discounts to seniors, students, and military as well as parties over 10 people. 
Weakness: 
  • Cost - There is a $15 entrance fee to the museum for adults.  While this is obviously put toward keeping the museum functioning and activities in abundance, this could be a deterrent to some. 
  • Popularity/Crowds - Because this space is so rich in art learning opportunity, it does become very busy and waiting is sometimes a large part of being in the space when it is crowded.
Opportunities: 

As laid out in this spaces strengths, it offers many art learning and creating opportunities to people of all ages at literally any time.  One can visit the gallery and take part in the learning and making processes hands-on in the museum itself, or access that learning online through thorough videos that not only provide step-by-step instructions, but also list materials.  There are sections of the FristKids website that talk about different artists, creativity, design, inspiration, etc. It can help kids to discover different modalities and kinds of art such as print making, mosaics, sculpture, and public art.  Color theory, mood, and story is also discussed.  Educators (or even parents) have the opportunity to view a lesson plan to walk children through some of the creative processes.  Many of these learning opportunities incorporate play, especially those targeted at younger children.  The importance of this is cited by Thomas and Seely Brown when they state that "Only when we care about experimentation, play, and questions more than efficiently, outcomes, and answers do we have a space that is truly open to the imagination.  And where imaginations play, learning happens" (2011, p.118).  It is in that school of thought that it can most definitely be concluded that the MAQ is a very valuable learning space.  The Martin ArtQuest Gallery and the FristKids website are teaming with art learning opportunities that can enrich the lives of children (and adults) not just in Nashville, but all over the world.  

References: 

Baker, M. (2018, June 6). Frist Art Museum's new Martin ArtQuest Gallery fosters community and 
     collaboration. Retrieved from https://www.tennessean.com/story/life/arts/2018/06/04/frist-art-             museum-exhibit-martin-artquest-gallery/651853002/.

FristKids. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://fristkids.org/.

Thomas, D. and Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a               world of constant change. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown. ISBN# 1456458884.









Comments

  1. evoyvodichOctober 28, 2019 at 3:26 PM

    Oh, I really love the interactive Frida drawing center pictured above! More museums should add a space like this into their curations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RautzhanOctober 29, 2019 at 11:30 AM

    I find that MAQ's most important feature as VCLC is the collaborative textile weaving station. As is noted in Karpati et. al..."By adopting the collaborative strategies of VCLCs, teachers can us the site of a classroom to reclaim a sense of belonging (Wild 2013).

    ReplyDelete

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