Artist Talks: Reimagining The Power of Art + Play
Hear directly from the Museum’s commissioned artists in our new live Artist Talk series! Learn about the upcoming installations and programs being planned for this year (2021 reopening date TBD) and get to know the artists behind the art. This year’s theme is Reimagining the Power of Art + Play, exploring topics on play, art, healing, community, identity and the Museum’s role in a post-COVID-19 world. Each Artist Talk will focus on different ways the Museum will be reimagining its spaces and programs for when it reopens and what visitors can look forward to!
Next Artist Talk
Reimagining Welcome with Katie Ruiz
March 3, 2021 at 6pm PST
How can color and shape provide comfort in trying times? Museum Deputy Director Tomoko Kuta joins artist Katie Ruiz for a discussion of hope and plans for Ruiz’s new mural at the Museum. The mural will act as an invitation to experience for families returning to the Museum. Learn more about this mural and how it will welcome back visitors upon reopening.
Katie Ruiz is a San Diego-based artist known for her “blanket paintings” in which figures shelter under colorful weavings inspired by Ruiz’s Xicana heritage and her study of traditional Mexican textiles. Visit the artist’s website.
Upcoming Artist Talks
Reimagining Playability
with David Israel Reynoso
April 14, 2021 at 6pm PST
What if a children’s museum could be seen as one never-ending playable show? Artist-in-residence David Reynoso joins Museum Director of Exhibitions Megan Dickerson to discuss alternative theatre, play in a post-COVID-19 world and plans for David’s immersive theatre installation, due to open at the Museum in late 2021.
David Israel Reynoso is a San Diego-based artist and theatre designer. He is a recipient of a San Diego Foundation Creative Catalyst Award as well as a 2011 Obie Award for “Sleep No More,” the mysterious, non-linear theatre production in which audiences could touch, smell and even taste. Visit the artist’s website.
Reimagining Gathering
with Wes Bruce
May 12, 2021 at 6pm PST
In 2016, Wes Bruce and the Museum created The Wonder Sound, an installation exploring joy, sorrow and the stories we tell about both. This spring, Bruce returns to create a new healing space for our community. Bruce and Director of Exhibitions Megan Dickerson will discuss this extension, how to gather in times like this and how to respond to a changing world.
Wes Bruce is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist who uses immersive spaces to tell stories of love, loss and what it means to be human. Visit the artist’s website.
The Artist Talk Series is presented by the Rain House Circle, passionate advocates and dedicated donors committed to The New Children’s Museum’s practice of commissioning contemporary artists to inspire art and play for a better world.