The Barnes Foundation Announces ArtSee Cart

Philadelphia — The Barnes Foundation announces the ArtSee Cart, a multi-sensory, hands-on art station for children and families premiering on Sunday, September 20, 2015 from 2-4pm. The ArtSee Cart is free and will be at the Barnes on the third Sunday of the month. Its inaugural theme, Sight Seeing: African Art Adventure, focuses on the stories, music, geography, traditions and materials from the West African countries the Barnes Foundation’s African art collection originates from, including: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Mali and Nigeria.

The ArtSee Cart, which was designed by students from the Charter High School for Architecture + Design (CHAD) was developed to provide an additional free site for art education at the Barnes to help enrich the important cultural time families spend together. The ArtSee Cart will serve as a place for children and families to gain a deeper understanding of the Barnes and learn about a featured part of the collection. With Sight Seeing: African Art Adventure, families can take part in a variety of fun, multi-sensory activities such as playing traditional African instruments, African hair braiding, participating in crafts such as designing your own African mask, and more. A full list of ArtSee Cart activities is included below. Information on future ArtSee Cart themes and 2016 hours is forthcoming. 

The Barnes Foundation’s ArtSee Cart is sponsored by the 25th Century Foundation, Marcy Gringlas, Joel Greenberg, and Seed the Dream Foundation, and Louise A. and Peter H. Havens.

SIGHT SEEING: AFRICAN ART ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES:

African Masks
Feel a real wood Fang mask and see a video of masked dancers in action. Design your own felt mask using color shapes and stripes as you experiment with pattern, symmetry, and asymmetry. Take a selfie next to your creation! 

Art of Display
What do you collect and how do you display them?  Here at the Barnes, you can clearly see how our founder, Dr. Albert C. Barnes, assembled his collection in what he called "ensembles." He believed that there was a lot to learn from looking at works of art from different times and places. Get into the act when you reshuffle magnetic ensemble pieces from Room 22 of the Collection Gallery where many pieces of the Barnes African collection reside.

Beautiful Braiding
You can find examples of African hair braiding both in the many pieces in the Barnes African collection and also on the streets today! Learn about the cultural significance of braiding in Africa and the United States when you meet our mannequin and create your own braids inspired by the samples on view. 

Geo-Puzzle
Geography can be hands-on fun when you assemble a challenging map of Africa to find out where-in-the-world some of our African art and objects come from and who made them. 

Marvelous Materials
Touch, smell, and observe an array of materials that represent the works of art in the collection. From wood to laundry bluing to kaolin clay to cowrie shells and more, there are lots of examples to look at and learn from. 

Making Music
The original use of the masks and sculptures on view at the Barnes, was for ritual dances and ceremonies. Music played, and continues to play, a very important role in African life. Try your hand at making music with a selection of instruments like a gankogui, talking drum, djembe, balafon, shekere, and uyot seed rattle. 

Take A Look Books
Whether reading an African tale to youngsters or grabbing a book to find some fascinating facts, there is an assortment of picture books to delve into.

ABOUT THE BARNES FOUNDATION 

The Barnes Foundation was established by Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture.” The Barnes holds one of the world’s finest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist and early modern paintings, with extensive works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine, and Giorgio de Chirico; works by American masters Charles Demuth, William Glackens, Horace Pippin, and Maurice Prendergast; Old Master paintings; important examples of African sculpture; Native American ceramics, jewelry, and textiles; decorative arts and ironwork; and antiquities from the Mediterranean region and Asia. 

While most collections are grouped by chronology, style, or genre, art at the Barnes is arranged in ensembles structured according to light, line, color, and space—principles that Dr. Barnes called “the universal language of art.” The Foundation’s programs include First Fridays, young professionals nights, tours, tastings, and family programs, as well as Barnes–de Mazia Education Program courses and workshops. These programs advance the Foundation’s mission through progressive, experimental, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The Barnes Foundation is open Wednesday–Monday, and tickets can be purchased on-site, online, or by calling 215.278.7200. Ticket prices and current hours are listed on our website. 

The Barnes Arboretum in Merion contains more than 2,500 varieties of trees and woody plants, many of them rare. Founded in the 1880s by Joseph Lapsley Wilson and expanded under the direction of Laura Leggett Barnes, the living collections include 40 state champion trees, a Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus), a dove tree (Davidia involucrata), a monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), and a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). Other important plant collections include lilacs, peonies, Stewartias, ferns, medicinal plants, hostas, and magnolias. The Horticulture Education Program has offered a comprehensive three-year certificate course in the botanical sciences, horticulture, garden aesthetics, and design since its establishment in 1940 by Mrs. Barnes. The arboretum also offers horticulture workshops and lectures and is open to the public Saturday–Sunday during the summer months. Tickets can be purchased on-site, online, or by calling 215.278.7200. Ticket prices and current hours are listed on our website. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Jan Rothschild, Senior Vice President for Communications
Deirdre Maher, Director of Communications
215.278.7160, press@barnesfoundation.org