We reached out to the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art as we were impressed by what they offered each year in the Children’s Yard at the Utah Arts Festival. No matter what the theme, UMOCA always had activities that intrigued the 5-year-olds to the adults. When we spoke with Elly Baldwin, the Curator of Public Engagement, she wished that the Art Truck could be offered. Yet, knowing UMOCA had their own pop-up tents and supplies, Elly thought that a visual arts story activity could still solidify UMOCA’s involvement with the 2018 Story Crossroads Festival.
Elly turned to her staff and volunteers and they came up with a visual art story project involving flipbooks. They had two different types depending on if they were working with young elementary students or upper grades into the secondary schools. They were smart with using resources they already had on hand while also preparing die-cuts to be more efficient when working with the students.
As we worked out field trips for the 3rd Annual Story Crossroads Festival for May 23, 2018, we rotated classes from the sit-down storytelling concerts to these hands-on activities including with what UMOCA had to offer. We told Elly that perhaps there would be 100 students per 1-hour session divided up amongst the other hands-on activities such as Karl Behling’s Mountain Man Petting Zoo or the Self-Led Story Walk. Then, it turned out to be 200 students per 1-hour session.
Elly was wonderful and said that they would prepare more flipbooks. We laughed about this “good” problem and knew we would be even better prepared when it came to 2019.
To meet Elly Baldwin as well as the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, see this 3-minute film through KUED’s “Contact with Mary Dickson” show: https://www.kued.org/contact/utah-museum-contemporary-art-experiment-with-abstract-art.
Learn more about the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art at their website here: http://www.utahmoca.org/.
From this same website it says:
The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art is proud to host a variety of special events throughout the year, including the popular Fluid Art, a pairing of arts and ales, as well as its annual gala, the museum’s largest fundraiser of the year. UMOCA also presents a variety of collaborations, including dance performances and film screenings, as well as monthly gallery exhibition openings.
So toss, tip, or take off your cap to the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art!
We also have year-round events such as the monthly house concerts and the 3rd Annual Story Crossroads Festival that will be on May 23, 2018.