DuPage Children's Museum to host outdoor Wild Art & Maker event June 26
Paint BIG, create a sound sculpture, smash and mix chalk paint, reverse graffiti with mud, and more! On Saturday, June 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. families become the artists when they explore unique and unusual art forms at the Wild Art & Maker event at DuPage Children's Museum, 301 N. Washington St. in Naperville.
Outdoor activities feature new, unfamiliar ways for families to get messy, interact with and create art, and be a maker (make cool stuff). Participants have the opportunity to work alongside local and regional artists that practice a unique art form. Preregistration is required.
"The inspiration for this event was to engage guests in hands-on experiences that expose them to new materials, tools, and ways of thinking about and making art. Playing and learning alongside professional artists provides a unique opportunity to dive deeper into an interest in the arts and the creative process," said Cassie Coffey, the museum's Guest Experience Senior Manager. "Children can see themselves as artists and find new ways to express themselves. We strive to nurture our guests' innate curiosity and creativity. It is so valuable to see and explore how individuals approach art and making in diverse ways."
Featured artists at the event include Chuck Jones, Chloe Perkis, and Gina Lee Robbins.
"Bringing together a team of artists to present programs and activities for Wild Art creates a dynamic environment where participants have a chance to explore a variety of different mediums, get messy, and share in the joy of making," said Dustin Thacker, the museum's Arts & Maker Specialist.
Chuck Jones is an artist and teacher who, after living in Chicago since 1993, has recently moved to Morton Grove. Although trained as a sculptor, Jones has created objects from embroidery to polished coconut, paper to blankets, computer animation to recordings of amateur choruses. He had taught at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Barat College, Indiana University, and is now a Teaching Artist at Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education where he has worked with first-graders to high school seniors, making videos, masks, comics, drawings, murals, buttons, paintings, furniture, and animation.
Chloe Perkis, a nonbinary cartoonist, painter, ceramist, and printmaker living in Chicago, has 12-plus years of experience in arts education for children and adults at such places as Chicago Children's Museum, Tinkering School Chicago, and Harold Washington College. Professionally, Perkis has extensively exhibited at comic festivals across North America. Best American Comics 2018 featured Perkis' work.
Gina Lee Robbins has been creating sculptures out of clay and found materials for over 25 years. She leads arts integration and enrichment programs in preschool, elementary and middle school classrooms, as well as adult cancer and wellness support centers in Chicago and throughout the western suburbs. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and is included in private and corporate collections worldwide.
As the museum's primary audience is young children who are not yet eligible for vaccination against COVID-19, face masks are required to be worn over the nose and mouth by everyone ages 2 years and older at all times while participating in museum activities indoors and outdoors.
This event is included with preregistered, timed-entry admission tickets sold through 1 p.m. Saturday, June 26. Preregistration is required from members and nonmembers. Admission to the museum is $15 for adults and children age 1 and older, and $14 for seniors age 59 or older; free for members and children under the age of one year.
Visit dupagechildrens.org/wild-art to get tickets.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the SECA Fund, the Illinois Art Council Agency, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The DuPage Children's Museum helps develop curiosity, creativity, thinking, and problem solving in young children through its mission: "DuPage Children's Museum ignites the potential of all children to learn through hands-on exploration by integrating art, math, and science." Interactive exhibits and programs make learning fun for children and adults playing together. The museum serves over 300,000 visitors annually representing all 50 states and 575 ZIP codes in Illinois. Its reach and support represent well beyond the Chicago area. The museum's impact extends across cultural, financial, and educational boundaries. It touches the lives of children from all regions, providing the building blocks for success in school and life. Visit www.dupagechildrens.org or call (630) 637-8000.