Bringing the artist, Museum and community together
How does developing artwork in community settings change us? This is the central question of our Artist Residency, which brings an artist, the Museum and our community together to create a new immersive installation or studio space that will remain on view at The New Children’s Museum. One artist is commissioned for the residency each year. By engaging with families at seven community centers in San Diego through our Mass Creativity program, the artist is inspired to add to his or her initial concept as part of the process of creating a new art installation. The overall goals of the residency are to create experiences that meet the needs of current as well as underserved visitors, to listen to community partners and devise new ways to reach all San Diego families, and to share our unique model with artists and the museum field. The Wonder Sound by Wes Sam-Bruce (2016) was the first Museum installation to be created using this residency model. Learn more about our current and past artist-in-residences below.
Current Artist-in-residence
Panca, 2020
Panca (aka Paola Villaseñor) lives and works in Tijuana. She is an international artist known for her playful street art, which has appeared everywhere from walls in Mexico City to the galleries of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD). As a child, Panca visited The New Children’s Museum and recalls painting the Painted Object, which was one of her first experiences with painting on a large scale. This left a big impression on her and has inspired her artwork today. Her work SMILE, currently adorns the Museum’s entry bridge, welcoming visitors with bright colors and playful smiles. Panca is participating in the 2020 Mass Creativity program, which will inform her art installation on the Museum’s Lower Level scheduled to open September 2020.