Children's Museum opens musical art exhibit | Chicago Tribune

"Cue the music and bring on the art" summarizes Jen Banowetz, Writer. 

Climbing Keys, a whimsical instrument inspired by Marcus Glenn’s “Keys to the Soul (Orange)” is one of the components of the new “Art is Instrumental” exhibit opening Nov. 11 at the DuPage Children's Museum in Napervill.
DuPage Children's Museum/HANDOUT

Kids can experience the connections between art and music at the new "Art is Instrumental" exhibit opening Nov. 11 at the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville.

"This exhibit gave us an opportunity to experiment with some new methods of engaging children with instrumentation," said Kimberly Stull, the museum's director of exhibits and operations. "We began by focusing on artists who use instruments in their art — in drawing, painting and sculpture — and then developed exhibits that help to bring that artwork to life or enhance the child's creative experience."

Kids can experiment with instruments and how they sound, build a sculpture that is also a musical instrument, paint a masterpiece while conducting an orchestra, be a part of a band and hear how the instruments combine to make one piece of music, play an "exploded" piano, and more.

"We hope that children and families will have an opportunity to connect through creativity and beauty," Stull said. "There are numerous opportunities for children to explore their own creative process while learning about both art and music."

Some of her favorite aspects of the exhibit include the Inspiration Station in the Studio, a drawing station where children can be inspired by still lifes of instruments, as well as the Climbing Keys, a whimsical instrument inspired by Marcus Glenn's "Keys to the Soul (Orange)." One-third of the keys have been replaced with an electronic keyboard that climbs the wall.

"We love the idea that a child has an opportunity to interact with an actual instrument and look forward to the intergenerational experiences that can happen when musicians come in with their families and choose to play the piano together," Stull said.

The fresh exhibit came about in two ways: First, every two years, the museum develops a new temporary exhibit in its Interact with Art Gallery. Second, when the museum reopened from the damaging flood in fall 2015, it did not reinstall the previous music room, and visitors really missed it, Stull said.
Read more...

Source: Chicago Tribune