For Andell Family Sundays, LACMA visitors of all ages are invited to make art at the museum on Sunday afternoons. Alongside these in-person workshops, Unframed publishes blog posts especially for families. Here, kids can find out more about Imagining Black Diasporas: 21st-Century Art and Poetics and the free workshops inspired by the exhibition.
Do you ever look at certain artworks and wonder if they hold secret powers? Have you made art that has personal meaning, brings you luck, or feels like it gives you a superpower? If you are nodding your head, then you will love Andell Family Sundays this month, when you can make art that is inspired by the exhibition Imagining Black Diasporas: 21st Century Art and Poetics.
If you can, start your visit by checking out the exhibition in BCAM, Level 2, and take in the work of 60 Black artists who are reinventing their heritage through artistic expression. It is a large exhibition that you can slowly walk through and even visit more than once so you can see everything.
Don’t miss Fading Scroll, a very large quilt made out of aluminum bottle tops and copper wire. The artist, El Anatsui, reuses and transforms materials that are usually cast away. He is from Ghana and works in Nigeria, and his artworks are a way for him to connect to the African continent. Each time this giant sculpture is shown, it can be rearranged into different shapes.
There are several collage portraits in the exhibition. Breaking Ranks by Deborah Roberts is made of collage paper and paint. Notice all the different parts that the artist put together to make the face. Now look at the rest of the figure. Doesn’t it this make you want to create your own art?
Ready? Head outside to find the Andell Family Sundays workshops, which are designed for all ages. They are located behind the Resnick Pavilion, facing Michael Heizer’s Levitated Mass, which is the title of LACMA’s big rock!
Artist Eszter Delgado will show you how to make colorful collage portraits. You'll tear or cut decorated and colored papers and glue them together to make a portrait of your own creation. You can draw your own outlines or trace a face stencil if you need help getting started, then add details with oil pastels and colorful stick-on jewels.
Do you want a special treasure that gives you powers? Artist Karl Petion will show you how to make a healing power object that you can keep in your pocket or wear like a pendant. You will use mat board shapes as a base and glue on your choice of beads, cowrie shells, decorated papers, and sequins. Add scents and textures with other natural materials like star anise, lavender, cloves, peppercorns, and dried grass. Need more color? We have paint markers! Make a special healing sculpture for yourself and one to give as a gift.
You can also join our Fiber Maker's Circle that takes place at Andell Family Sundays. It’s a great way to relax while working with materials like yarn and fabric. You can learn embroidery, crochet, and pom pom making, or bring your own project from home.
Andell Family Sundays: Imagining Black Diasporas takes place February 9, 16, and 23 from 12:30-3:30 pm. Keep your eyes on our full calendar of programs for even more fun activities.