Posts Tagged 'Center for Creative Connections'

Breaking Down Barriers

Published July 20, 2018 Center for Creative Connections Closed
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It may or may not surprise you to hear that one in five adults in the United States self-identifies as having a disability. At the DMA, we believe that limitations reside not in individuals, but in systematic barriers to participation, and that accessibility is a shared responsibility across the Museum. Collaboration between departments helps the DMA remove barriers to participation and continually broaden our definition of access.

One of the ways we approach accessibility is through individualized experiences for specific needs. But we also learned from visitors that they’d like the means to explore the Museum and its collection through unstructured, anytime activities and resources.

This month we are pleased to unveil the result of the most recent collaboration between our Education and Design departments: large-print booklets in the Center for Creative Connections Gallery.

When designing for the low-vision community, the proper treatment and application of design elements can significantly enhance readability. Simply enlarging standard-print documents does not result in effective large-print material. The font selection, size, and line spacing are just a few components that must be carefully selected and treated.

Sans serif geometric fonts such as Helvetica, Futura, and Gotham Rounded are ideal for large-print documents. Limiting the number of characters per line, creating a high visual color contrast between the background and text, and aligning to the left are further design decisions that help the low-vision community easily consume printed information.

While visitors with vision impairment were at the forefront of our mind during the design process, these design elements can help remove barriers for visitors with dyslexia and those who are English language learners as well.

We are excited to add these large-print booklets to our repertoire of accessible materials for visitors. Some of our previous projects include visual descriptions and sensory activities at the Pop-Up Art Spot. Creating opportunities and programs for visitors with vision impairments has long been an important facet of the DMA’s program offerings with Art Beyond Sight Awareness month in October and our summer touch tour for DISD students with visual impairments.

While many exciting accessibility projects are underway at the Museum, there is still much work to be done. As we evaluate and test the new large-print label format, we will seek to expand the booklets to other exhibition galleries in the future. We hope the introduction of the large-print label booklets will be a next step in exploring what we can do to better serve our audiences and expand accessibility throughout the Museum.

Emily Wiskera is the Manager of Access Programs and Jaclyn Le is the Exhibitions Graphic Designer at the DMA.

Visions of Home: An Interview with Artist Ellie Ivanova

Published June 18, 2018 Behind-the-Scenes , Center for Creative Connections Closed
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This summer, the Center for Creative Connections (C3) is thrilled to have C3 Visiting Artist Ellie Ivanova here to design interactive in-gallery activities in which visitors contribute their visions of home. These perspectives then become part of a larger print created independently by the artist at her studio before finally being installed back in C3. Get to know more about Ellie and her project below, and stop by the Center for Creative Connections to contribute your own drawing to the project.

Ellie portrait

Tell us about yourself.
I am an artist who uses photography, but goes beyond the print. I have lived in several countries (Bulgaria, Latin America, the United States, and Italy) and am grateful for all the people I have met in all the places where I have lived who have shaped my experience.

What motivated you to apply to the C3 Visiting Artist Project?
As a researcher pursuing a PhD in Art Education, my special interest is in public pedagogy, which is everything we learn from each other in informal ways outside of a classroom environment and everything we do when sharing experiences through art. Having changed homes myself many times, and living in between two homes right now, I found an affinity with people who are longing for a lost home or dreaming for one. I wanted to see what would happen when all our different ideas of home come together, and what better place to experiment with this than Dallas Museum of Art!

Tell us about the installation you’ve created in the Center for Creative Connections.
It is a participatory print, in which many different small drawings of homes—lost, dreamt, and found—are contributed by visitors on squares of transparency. Using these as photographic negatives, I put together these drawings to print a “neighborhood” of the collected homes on photo-sensitized fabric. I’m using the cyanotype process, an old photo process that has been used through the decades for scientific and architectural imaging along with creative art making. Even though a home is something personal, a place that separates us from the rest of the world, with this project we see how different or similar our ideas of home look like when they are brought together.

 

 

Ellie c3 project

C3 Visiting Artist Project Space

Do you have any favorite visitor contributions you’d like to share?
The simplest drawings have been most delightful! Of course, I enjoy the elaborate, detailed homes done by other artists or others who are invested in the process. But when we have to draw simply, the bare bones of thought show through. I enjoy seeing how our basic image of what a home is can translate into being something so creative.

fabric closeup
Kerry Butcher is the Center for Creative Connections Education Coordinator at the DMA.

The Power of Pop-Up Art Spot

Published April 30, 2018 Center for Creative Connections Closed
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Since the debut of the Pop-Up Art Spot in 2013, this roaming activity cart has become a favorite stop for visitors of all ages. In a continued effort to make immersive activities that are inspired by nearby works of art, the Center for Creative Connections team has introduced a brand new Pop-Up Art Spot cart designed around special exhibitions. Our first focus is The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana, which features over 250 objects revealing the splendor of Asante regalia from the 19th to 21st centuries.

The Power of Gold Pop-Up Art Spot will rotate monthly between two carts of activities until the exhibition closes on August 12, 2018. At the April Late Night, visitors learned about proverbs connected to selected goldweights in the exhibition by playing a match game and making drawings.

In May the cart will focus on textiles. Visitors will observe the detailed patterns in kente cloth and use silk thread to create their own weaving. They can also explore the symbols in adinkra cloth and create a rubbing using various adinkra stamps.

Come try these activities, and more,  in the Power of Gold exhibition on Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and on selected Late Nights from 8:00 to 10:30 p.m. A special exhibition ticket is required.

Kerry Butcher is the Education Coordinator for the Center for Creative Connections at the DMA.

Artist Interview: Timothy Harding

Published February 26, 2018 Behind-the-Scenes , Center for Creative Connections 1 Comment
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Last month, our first C3 Visiting Artist of 2018, Timothy Harding, began his participatory installation in the Center for Creative Connections (C3). We’ve enjoyed watching the project grow as Harding adds new contributions to the installation biweekly. Learn more about the artist, his process, and his experiences at the DMA.

Tell us about yourself. (In 50 words or less)
I’m an artist based in Fort Worth, a die-hard Dallas Stars fan, and proud owner of a cat named Clyde. When not cheering on my team, I work in my studio and teach at Tarleton State University in Stephenville.

What motivated you to apply to the C3 Visiting Artist Project?
Recently my practice has been confined to the studio with no outside collaboration. I was interested in coming up with a project that would allow me to collaborate with others and open the opportunity to explore methods that I have not previously used. This is the first project I’ve done that is almost entirely digital in execution and produced with people who I never directly interact with. I’m excited to see how this might impact my practice moving forward.

 

Tell us about the installation you’ve created in the Center for Creative Connections.
The installation is a site-specific line drawing made up of hundreds of individual marks. This ongoing work is produced from scribbles and gestures left by Museum visitors on an iPad. Visitors leave their mark in a program and send it to me over the creative cloud. From there I make a couple of slight alterations to the file and cut them out via laser cutter in varieties of gray, black, and white paper. After cutting, I visit the Museum and add to the installation. The marks are layered in a manner that allows each to be noticeable while working together to produce an intricate whole.

 

Do you have any favorite visitor contributions you’d like to share?
I can’t say I have any specific favorite marks that have been sent yet. What I have found most interesting about this project is the number of unique marks I receive on a daily basis. Earlier projects have used my own scribbles, which are very familiar to me. It’s refreshing to find new marks and think about the decision making of that viewer without knowing who they are or anything about them.

What have you enjoyed most about this experience so far?
I’ve enjoyed interacting with Museum-goers. I had the opportunity to give a presentation to an engaged group of people about my work and this project. That was a very rewarding experience. Other interactions have been more casual and occur during installation. People of various ages, from children to adults, seem curious about the project and what is happening. It has been fun to have casual conversations with them and solicit their contributions.

C3 Visiting Artist Timothy Harding will lead a Teen Tour and a Teen Homeschool Workshop in April. Learn more about upcoming Teen Programs here.

Jessica Fuentes is the Manager of Gallery Interpretation and the Center for Creative Connections at the DMA.

2018 C3 Visiting Artist Project

Published January 10, 2018 Center for Creative Connections Closed
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Last year the Center for Creative Connections launched the C3 Visiting Artist Project, as a new way to engage with local artists both in the physical space of C3 and through various educational programs offered by the Museum. Through this initiative, we worked with four visiting artists; completing a total of twenty programs throughout the year and serving over 800 visitors. Of course this doesn’t include the countless visitors who had the opportunity to interact with each artist’s creation in C3–from self-guided tours to musical zine making.

In 2018, we are looking forward to another great year of artist projects and programming. Stop by this year to participate in Timothy Harding’s exploration of gesture, contribute to Ellie Ivanova’s collaborative cyanotype neighborhood, and engage with Lauren Cross’ interactive sensory environment. Meet the artists:

Timothy Harding
January – April

Timothy Harding’s education and career have been closely tied to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He received his MFA from Texas Christian University, BFA from Texas Woman’s University, and currently teaches at Tarleton State University. His work explores the relationship between drawing, painting, and sculpture, through dimensional paintings and sculptural installations. Harding’s works have appeared at local venues including Cris Worley Fine Arts, the Power Station, and 500X Gallery. Other Texas exhibitions of his work have taken place at the Grace Museum (Abilene) and Box 13 (Houston). In addition, Harding’s art has been in shows in more distant sites including: Florida State University Museum of Art (Tallahassee, FL); SCENE Metrospace (East Lansing, MI); and And Gallery (Jackson, MS). He was a 2009 recipient of The Arch and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund Grant from the DMA and a 2016 Artist Microgrant from the Nasher Sculpture Center.

Ellie Ivanova
May – August

Ellie Ivanova is a Bulgarian-born lens-based artist who currently splits her time between Texas and Italy. Her major creative interest is the experience of memory, home, and identity in traditional and experimental formats. She uses processes and conceptual approaches through which images continue to evolve after being captured and printed, erasing the boundaries between the factual and the fictitious. As a researcher, she is interested in the museum and the archive as a metaphor for social and artistic expression. Ivanova has an MFA in Photography from the University of North Texas, where she is currently pursuing a PhD in Art Education/Visual Studies. Her photographs have been exhibited throughout the United States in solo and group exhibitions and are part of the permanent collection of Human Rights Art at South Texas College and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, among others. In 2010 she founded Third Eye Workshops, which teach photography to children from marginalized groups in Bulgaria.

Lauren Cross
September – December

Lauren Cross is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and scholar whose work has been exhibited across the country. Cross earned her BA (2006) in Art, Design, and Media from Richmond, the American International University in London, England, her MFA (2010) in Visual Arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, and her Ph.D (2017) in Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX. Cross is a passionate advocate for diversity in the arts, founding WoCA Projects, a non profit arts organization that curates exhibitions and community arts programs that champion women artists of color. She has also written and contributed academic research on the intersections of race, gender and the arts in the fields of women’s and gender studies, visual culture studies, and multicultural studies. In 2013, Cross was among three Fort Worth artists selected for the 2013 Fort Worth Weekly Visionary Awards, and in 2015 she was listed among 100 Dallas Creatives by the Dallas Observer.

Stay tuned to see updates throughout the year about each artist project and upcoming programming. Be sure to stop by the Center for Creative Connections to interact with their creations.

Jessica Fuentes is the Manager of Gallery Interpretation and the Center for Creative Connections at the DMA

Testing for Truth

Published December 11, 2017 Behind-the-Scenes , Center for Creative Connections Closed
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The Center for Creative Connections has an area designated as the Testing Zone. The space consists of two walls, each with a chalkboard, a large table with stools, and three wires from which items can be suspended for display. The Testing Zone debuted in 2012 as a vehicle for education staff to evaluate the ways visitors engage with various types of art, experiment with potential in-gallery activities, and enable visitors to share their preferences on what objects and interpretative materials are provided in permanent collection galleries.

Prior to the opening of Truth: 24 frames per second, we decided to use the Testing Zone to post a series of open-ended questions and gauge visitors’ interest in a range of topics inspired by works in the exhibition. Unlike most Testing Zone activities, the Truth experiment was challenging because participants did not have the benefit of seeing the works beforehand, nor could we summarize the full scope of the exhibition in the limited amount of space. Additionally, the exhibition resists traditional notions of fine art and consciously avoids a singular narrative, lesson, or point of view.

After reading the series of prompts clipped to the Testing Zone’s three display wires, visitors selected one or more slips of paper to share their thoughts. Each slip contained a single prompt followed by five potential responses that would indicate their level of interest in the topic, whether the prompt was easily understood, and whether the question was something they wanted to encounter at the Museum or discuss in a community forum. The back of each piece of paper was left available for people to write additional thoughts.

Much to my surprise, nearly 350 visitors shared their feedback over two weeks. The responses allowed me to rephrase some of the questions and set others aside. In the end, the prompts became part of the exhibition’s visitor guide and the conversation continues via Twitter (#DMATruth) and written responses which provide the source material for a scrolling LED sign hanging near the exhibition’s entrance.

Emily Schiller is the Head of Interpretation at the DMA

C3 Summer Intern Recap: Abigail

Published August 29, 2017 Museum Insight , People Closed
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Hi, my name is Abigail Hofbauer– intern, chocolate lab puppy aficionado, sushi-lover, and new Dallasite. I’m currently in graduate school at Baylor University for my Masters of Arts in Museum Studies, having just completed my Bachelor’s (also at Baylor!) in History.

This summer, I had the chance to intern with the Center for Creative Connections at the DMA. I worked on many things over the summer: daily C3 upkeep, interactions with volunteers, and the newest Visiting Artist Project. Lisa Huffaker’s Sound re:Vision opened my eyes to the hard work behind the scenes of all interactive art installations. It was fun to create zines and to have part ownership of such an interesting piece in the Museum.

As the C3 Summer Intern, my specific project was to observe and evaluate the visitor experience of the Pop-up Art Spot inspired by the Keir Collection of Islamic Art. Through surveys, personal interactions, and simple observations, visitors provided some detailed feedback about what they want in a “pop-up experience” at a museum. Our goal was to make sure visitors were spending time with the art collections, making connections with the art and others in their group, and having fun in the Museum! If the results of my observations are any indicator, I’d say that we reached our goal.

Most of the visitors came in groups – both families and adults. Almost all of these groups spent time in the Keir Collection of Islamic Art either before, during, or after their activity. It was important to confirm this and show the Pop-up Art Spot was making a connection between the art and visitors. The majority of the visitors who participated in the Pop-up Art Spot activities were also adults, rather than children. This was a great piece of information to glean, as it shows how diverse yet simple activities appeal to all ages. Teens and adults above age 45 are some audiences to focus on in future activities.

The coloring and shape search activities were very popular, but the cross-cultural connection postcard activity really touched the hearts of our visitors. Some responses were so heartfelt and interesting! In the surveys taken, visitors indicated that they felt connected, proud, inspired, and excited to spend time with art. Many also indicated that there was a larger social impact of the activities on their visit: some learned about shapes, colors, patterns, or other visitors! We had 73 activities filled out and 183 participants throughout the month of July.

Here are three of my favorite responses from the postcard activity:

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Overall, this project was so fulfilling! I got firsthand knowledge of the visitors at the DMA. I also got to work closely with some amazing volunteers and see how they help educational programs shine. But most important of all, I used skills I learned from classes and previous experience to improve museum programming. This internship has allowed me to be part of so many experiences at the DMA and learn from the amazing Education team. It’s been an honor and I couldn’t have been happier to be here for the summer!

Abigail Hofbauer
Center for Creative Connections Intern

See What’s New in C3!

Published July 11, 2017 Center for Creative Connections Closed
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Stop by the Center for Creative Connections (C3) this summer to see the newly installed exhibition, Art of Communication. Bringing together works from the Museum’s decorative arts and design, American, contemporary, European, and Latin America art collections, this exhibition explores some of the ways visual art serves as a tool for communication. Explore objects arranged in three categories: Communication Through Portraiture, Communication Through Design, and Communication Through Narrative. Each section has a corresponding activity so you can take a moment to draw, create, or write inspired by the works of art on display. Here’s a peek at some of the works of art on view and visitor creations:

Communication Through Portraiture

Sit at the drawing horses and sketch the portraits on view, take a seat at the table and try your hand at drawing a self-portrait or a portrait of a friend, or take turns being the artist in the Photo Studio and pose a friend for a photo portrait.

Communication Through Design

Get inspired by these works of art designed for communication and create your own communication device. Fill out a label and display your device on the shelves at the C3 Art Spot.

Communication Through Narrative

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A Texas Dozen is a photographic portfolio by photographer, filmmaker, and journalist Geoff Winningham. From Dallas to Houston, Winningham captured the life and regional rituals of Texans in the early 1970s. These photographs tell a multitude of stories from events across the Lone Star State. Choose one photograph that catches your eye and write a story inspired by the characters and scene.

Remember, the Center for Creative Connections is open anytime the DMA is open and is always free! Stop in, enjoy the art, and get creative. All ages welcome!

Images: Eugene Speicher, The Farmer, c. 1923, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase; Debbie Fleming Caffery, Looking at Me (Polly), 1984, elatin silver print, Dallas Museum of Art, Jackson, Walker, Winstead, Cantwell & Miller Fund 1998.186;Everett Spruce, Twins, 1939–1940, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Dealey Prize, Eleventh Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibition, 1940 1940.21; Nam June Paik, Music Box Based on Piano Piece Composed in Tokyo in 1954, 1994, Vintage TV cabinet, Panasonic 10 TV model 1050R, Panasonic mini video camera, incandescent light bulb and 144-note music box mechanism, Dallas Museum of Art, bequest of Dorace M. Fichtenbaum 2015.48.113; “Ericofon” pattern telephone, Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson, designed 1949–1954, plastic, metal, molded, Dallas Museum of Art, 20th-Century Design Fund 1995.118; “Bluebird” radio (Model 566), Designer: Walter Dorwin Teague, c. 1934, glass, chrome-plated metal, fabric, and painted wood, Dallas Museum of Art, bequest of Sonny Burt, Dallas 2014.60.4; Geoff Winningham, The Cronin Gallery, Tag Team Action, Wrestling, negative 1971, print 1976, gelatin silver print, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Prestonwood National Bank 1981.36.1; Geoff Winningham, The Cronin Gallery, Lamé Pants, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, negative 1972, print 1976, gelatin silver print, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Prestonwood National Bank 1981.36.13

Jessica Fuentes is the Manager of Gallery Interpretation and the Center for Creative Connections

Communication Through Portraiture

Published July 11, 2017 Creativity Closed
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One of the best things about working in the Center for Creative Connections is getting to see all the hard work of redesigning the spaces come to life. Over the last few weeks, staff and visitors alike have watched some new faces pop up on our walls in the front gallery.

 

Debbie Fleming Caffery, Looking at Me (Polly), 1984, Gelatin Silver Print, Jackson, Walker, Winstead, Cantwell & Miller Fund
Debbie Fleming Caffery, Looking at Me (Polly), 1984, Gelatin Silver Print, Jackson, Walker, Winstead, Cantwell & Miller Fund
William Henry Huddle, Portrait of Madam Candelaria, 1891, Oil on canvas on masonite, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzlle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation
William Henry Huddle, Portrait of Madam Candelaria, 1891, Oil on canvas on masonite, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzlle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation
Diego Rivera, Portrait of Dr. Otto Ruhle, 1940, Oil on Canvas, Gift of Elizabeth B. Blake
Diego Rivera, Portrait of Dr. Otto Ruhle, 1940, Oil on Canvas, Gift of Elizabeth B. Blake
Everett Spruce, Twins, 1939-1940, Oil on canvas, Dealey Prize, Eleventh Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibiton
Everett Spruce, Twins, 1939-1940, Oil on canvas, Dealey Prize, Eleventh Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibiton

Today, technology makes it easy to snap hundreds of photos of ourselves on a front facing camera phone. But for centuries, portraiture has played an important role in how we study and interpret subjects through aspects like environments, surrounding props, clothing and even color and lighting. All of these things are visual clues shown to us by the artists to communicate an underlying narrative about the subject. Even the way an artist chooses to capture their sitter can reflect on their relationship with them. Observing Chuck Close’s “Phil/Fingerprint” from a distance, you might not realize that Close used his own fingerprints to create an intimate portrait of his close friend, composer Phillip Glass.

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Chuck Close, ‘Phil/Fingerprint’, 1981, Lithograph, Dallas Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon Fund

After viewing and reading more about all the artists and subjects that fill the gallery, we’re inviting visitors to put their own methods to the test when capturing a subject. We’ve been watching over the last few weeks how visitors have excitedly sat at one of our tables in the gallery to sketch themselves or a friend…

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…or at the C3 Photo Studio to find the right pose for their own compelling portrait.

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Strike a pose when you stop by C3 on your next visit!

Kerry Butcher
Center for Creative Connections Coordinator

Volunteering is smART!

Published June 20, 2017 Art & Teaching , People Closed
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Center for Creative Connections volunteer

The DMA is fortunate to have a committed group of volunteers who are dedicated to ensuring our educational programs succeed. If you want to get more involved at the DMA, We are currently recruiting new volunteers for the Center for Creative Connections, Go van Gogh school outreach program, and the Arts & Letters Live speaker series. A formal background in art or art education is not required, we simply seek individuals who are passionate about serving the Dallas community! There is a volunteer opportunity for all interests, so read on for details about each opening.

In the Center for Creative Connections, we seek volunteers who enjoy interacting with the public. C3 volunteers welcome and engage visitors in conversations about art and art making in the Art Spot. C3 volunteers also have the chance to take the  C3 experience to other galleries as a Pop-Up Art Spot facilitator. Volunteers are asked to serve two shifts per month, approximately seven hours, and must attend an orientation session.

Go van Gogh volunteers help teach art programs in elementary classrooms across the city. They encourage students to look closely at works of art in the Museum’s collection and get involved in hands-on art making projects. Interested volunteers must be available to attend bi-monthly training sessions on Tuesday mornings and are asked to teach two weekday programs per month from late September to mid-May.

If you love literature, then becoming an Arts & Letters Live volunteer may be the choice for you! Arts & Letters Live volunteers support speaker events, including BooksmART programs for young readers, by serving as ticket takers, greeters, ushers, and book signing assistants. New volunteers will attend an orientation session in December before the the 2018 season begins.

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Visit our Volunteer page for applications and additional information about each of these volunteer programs or email volunteers@dma.org with any questions. We hope you’ll join us!

Andi Orkin
Volunteer Coordinator for Programming

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