Looking for something free for the kids to do this weekend? Try Winter Art Mania
The Wichita Art Museum’s popular Winter Art Mania is happening again this weekend. That means free admission for both Saturday, Dec. 26, and Sunday, Dec. 27. WAM held an earlier Winter Art Mania during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Here are five things to know about this weekend’s WAM’s Winter Art Mania.
▪ It’s free admission all day on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., but special Art Mania art-making activities happen between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. This year’s activities celebrate the winter solstice and Lunar New Year. On Saturday, visitors can create a glowing lantern and a yarn-wrapped sculpture made with glow-in-the-dark beads. Sunday’s art-making activities are creating a shiny moonscape and a red envelope for the money collection custom that is part of the Chinese New Year, which is Feb. 12. You can do the activities on-site or take home the supplies to do them later.
▪ Visitors can make their way through a special 3,000-square-foot “Labyrinth of Light” maze and discover artworks in WAM’s various galleries by playing a Kahoot-type challenge.
▪ Two don’t-miss exhibitions to see while you visit are “Preston Singletary: Raven and Box of Daylight” and “Foot in the Door.” Singletary’s exhibition is in its final weeks; it closes Jan. 17. Singletary is an internationally regarded glass artist who incorporates his Pacific Northwest Native heritage into his works. This multimedia exhibition interprets a popular Native American origin story. “Foot in the Door” was mounted to celebrate the creativity of Wichitans as part of WAM’s 85th anniversary. The exhibition displays 12-by-12-inch pieces of artwork created by 570 artists who have some sort of connection to Wichita. You’ll find a variety of artworks created by all ages, from elementary school-aged children to a nonagenarian.
▪ Four exhibitions located in smaller gallery spaces — which makes social distancing among larger numbers of visitors difficult — are closed during the WAM free-admission days of Saturdays, Dec. 26, Jan. 2 and 9, and Sunday, Dec. 27. The select exhibitions include “A Tale of Two Women: Louise Caldwell Murdock and Elizabeth Navas,” which celebrated the two women instrumental in creating WAM.
▪ WAM’s safety protocols include requiring face masks for visitors and staff and six-feet or more social distancing and health-screening questions when visitors enter.
Wichita Art Museum’s Winter Art Mania
What: Two free-admission days with special art-making activities at the Wichita Art Museum
When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 26, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 27, with art-making activities happening between 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where: Wichita Art Museum, 1400 W. Museum Blvd.
Cost: Free
More info: wichitaartmuseum.org