Experience Entirely Kids Day: Larger than Life Saturday, November 27 at the Des Moines Art Center. This free event will be filled with all things big and small as visitors explore scale in art.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy Day
Tel: 515.612.0775 (m)
E-mail: aday@desmoinesartcenter.org
DES MOINES, IA (November 2021) On Thanksgiving weekend, the Des Moines Art Center is offering a post-holiday event for the whole family that doesn’t involve crowded malls, online shopping, or swiping your credit card. Instead, experience Entirely Kids Day: Larger than Life Saturday, November 27 from 11 am – 3 pm at the Des Moines Art Center at 4700 Grand Ave in Des Moines. This free event will be filled with art, hands-on activities, music, and film celebrating all things big and small as visitors explore scale in art.
The goal of this Art Center event is to make creative connections and meaningful memories with your loved ones. “As parents, many of us are looking for ways to spend time together and redirect our attention away from screens. Entirely Kids Day is designed to do that in a fun and enriching way,” says Director of Education and Interpretation Jill Featherstone.
Entirely Kids Day: Larger than Life activities are designed to encourage multigenerational learning and provide an experience that’s a little out-of-the-ordinary, which enlivens the senses and allows room for creative thinking, all while having fun in the process.
Highlights include a 20’ papier-mâché taco pizza sculpture by artist Justin Favela, the unveiling of Des Moines’ first Free Little Art Gallery, which invites the public to take or leave a miniature artwork, and watching the Disney classic Honey, I Shrunk the Kids on the big screen.
Using tissue paper and glue, visitors are invited to contribute to a massive mural inspired by the large-scale artwork of Justin Favela, currently on display at the Art Center. On the smaller end of the spectrum, try your hand at sculpting miniature foods using model magic, markers, and your imagination.
Entertainment will be provided by guitar duo Kun Nong and his daughter Anna Hurley Nong of “The Motofingers” as they share their love of jazz and rock with a live performance during the event. For those who like to move, Kathleen Hurley, Artistic Director of Hurley & Dancers and instructor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Grinnell College, will offer interactive dance activities for all ages.
This event is free and open to the public. Complementary hot beverages will be offered in the outdoor courtyard and kid-friendly snacks will be available for purchase.
For additional information or photos, contact Director of External Affairs Amy Day at 515.271.0344 or aday@desmoinesartcenter.org.
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About the Des Moines Art Center + John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park
Recognized by international art critics as a world-class museum in the heart of the Midwest, the Des Moines Art Center, an AAM-accredited institution, has amassed an important collection of art from the 19th century to the present, with a major emphasis on contemporary art. Focused on quality and global in scope, it includes major works by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Francis Bacon, Andy Goldsworthy, Henri Matisse, Wangechi Mutu, Ai Wei Wei and Kara Walker, among hundreds of others. The collection is housed in three major buildings, each designed by a renowned architect—Eliel Saarinen, I. M. Pei and Richard Meier. With the exception of special events, admission to the museum is free.
In September 2009, the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park opened in Des Moines’ Western Gateway Park. Philanthropists John and Mary Pappajohn provided funding for and donated 31 sculptures by internationally acclaimed contemporary artists to the Des Moines Art Center. The collection of sculptures by such artists as Martin Puryear, Louise Bourgeois, Deborah Butterfield, Willem de Kooning, Mark di Suvero, Olafur Eliasson, Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, Yayoi Kusama, Jaume Plensa, Richard Serra and Joel Shapiro is the most significant donation of artwork to the Art Center in a single gift in the museum’s history. The Pappajohn Sculpture Park is a collaboration of the Pappajohns, the City of Des Moines, the Des Moines Art Center and numerous corporate and private donors.
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