About KidspaceSchool Programs | ArtShop | Participation | Past Exhibitions | Future Exhibitions | Funding Kidspace at MASS MoCA is changing the way young people interact with contemporary art. Working primarily with the communities of North Adams, Savoy, Florida, and Clarksburg, MA and Stamford, VT, Kidspace provides an extensive multi-disciplinary artistic program, impacting every student and every teacher in seven public schools. Kidspace emphasizes artistic excellence, offers engaging educational experiences, and brings contemporary art to communities that have previously had limited access to it. Families, teachers, students, and the general public are invited to Kidspace to discover the important role that art can play in their lives. OverviewKidspace is a collaborative project of three of the leading cultural institutions in Massachusetts -- the Williams College Museum of Art, the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, and MASS MoCA -- three museums with outstanding exhibitions, public programs, and deep commitments to the community. Kidspace is integral to all three organizations' educational programming and access strategy, helping to build bridges between the local community and professional artists and their artwork. Kidspace, a 2,400 square foot contemporary art gallery and art-making space, first opened its doors in the MASS MoCA complex in North Adams, MA in January 2000. Since then, Kidspace has mounted two major thematic exhibitions each year, selected for both educational and artistic merit. These innovative exhibitions - along with guest artists, multiple gallery visits and classroom projects, intensive teacher workshops, and written and online curricular materials developed in collaboration with teachers - have made Kidspace a model museum/school partnership program. Kidspace is also open the public on weekends, during school breaks and over the summer, when visitors can view exhibitions and create their own art projects. School ProgramsKidspace programming is geared to children who have had little exposure to the arts and to schools that are eager to incorporate arts-based learning into their curriculum but lack the resources to do so. Kidspace is part of the life of every elementary schoolchild and teacher in North Adams, Clarksburg, Florida, and Savoy, MA, as well as Stamford, VT. Through its partnership with local public schools, Kidspace introduces children to contemporary art and integrates the study of art with the general curriculum. During class visits to the space, students work with Kidspace staff to interpret the art on view and respond to the exhibition themes through their own artistic production. Students also work with their teachers in the classroom on projects outlined in a curriculum guide that accompanies each exhibition. Additional partnerships are formed with local organizations, such as Williams College and the Center for Ecological Technology, that help support the learning in the schools and connect to themes being explored in Kidspace programs. Kidspace organizes an extensive artist residency program with the professional artists who are featured in Kidspace exhibitions. These artists visit the seven public schools to work with every student on art projects using materials and artistic processes similar to their own. Additional visits with the artists often take place at Kidspace, where students can have a second opportunity to explore the Kidspace exhibition-this time with the artists who created the work on display. Building upon their experience in Kidspace, students also visit one or more of the three collaborating museums (WCMA, Clark, or MASS MoCA) as part of the Kidspace Three-Museum Semester. These visits enable teachers and students to continue to hone their art viewing and interpreting skills while examining the diverse collections and exhibitions in the different museums. Students from other school districts including Williamstown, Pittsfield, and Adams have also participated in Kidspace. Though not part of the larger Kidspace program, individual classes can sign up for a tour of Kidspace and work on art projects in the gallery. ArtShop: After School Artist Mentor ProgramArtShop is a FREE after school art program for 6th through 10th graders from the Northern Berkshire region. The program aims at developing students' abilities to confidently discuss works of art and to share their ideas and feelings about their own work and the work of other artists. A primary goal of these activities is to build students' self-esteem, and encourage students to work actively with and in support of their peers. Annual Participation in Kidspace
Kidspace Exhibitions to Date
Future ExhibitionsFALL 2007 - October 4, 2007 - February 24, 2008It's Rude to Stare: Drawings and Sculpture by Richard Criddle
SPRING 2008 - March 27 - September 1, 2008Interpretations: Contemporary Views of Historic Paintings by Devorah Sperber
FALL 2008 - October 2, 2008 - February 22, 2009Interactive technology-based art (title tbd)
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