At the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Family Day was all about bringing art into the family.
The centre offered numerous activities on Feb. 21 to make art informative and enjoyable for people of all ages.
Pollock in the Park is inspired by American artist Jackson Pollock who used sticks and brushes to create large and enthusiastic abstract works.
At the centre, participants young and older joined in creating Winter Rhythm, a 15-foot drip painting reflecting the energy and diversity of the community.
Aidan Ware, coordinator of education and development, explained that Pollock in the Park made use of the 15 foot canvas to create the drip painting.
Ware said “We encouraged the people to move to the music and feel able to free up in the expressionist activity.”
The rest of the day included meeting Ehryn Torrell and Annelore Schneider who are internationally acclaimed artists visiting the arts centre.
Ware noted that drama was also key to the day with at Art Act, where participants were to be divided into groups and assigned paintings on which they would create plays to express their interpretation of the work.
That day, Ken Danby’s artwork was brought from the centre’s collection to complement a special screening of a rare documentary on his life and work.
The original centre structure was built in 1904, the school’s vision was to amalgamate small rural schools into one larger school with qualified teachers, an initiative known as the “Macdonald Movement.”
The school closed in 1972 and reopened as The Macdonald Stewart Art Centre; a public gallery that annually presents 15 exhibitions of contemporary and historical art drawn from regional, national and international sources. A major thrust of the program is to feature the 4,000 piece University of Guelph and Art Centre collections that cover 300 years of Canadian art. Visit the gallery and adjoining outdoor sculpture park.
The centre is open year round from Tuesday to Sunday but only by appointment in August. Admission is free but donations are gratefully accepted.
