Kid's Art Walk Brings Art Adventure to Telluride

02 Jun Kid's Art Walk Brings Art Adventure to Telluride

By J James McTigue

The first of the summer’s First Thursday Art Walks begins today June 2nd.  But this summer, there is another first; a Kid’s Art Walk. Much like the regular Art Walk, Kids’s Art Walk will bring a festive air to exploring art as the town’s art galleries, art schools, coffee shops and restaurants open their doors.

Kid’s Art Walk is from 4:00 to 7:00pm the first Thursday of each month. Kate Jones, the Executive Director of TCAH, thought of including kids in first Thursdays and according to her colleagues, Kid’s Art Walk is her “baby.”  “It’s about engaging families in the art and opening doors of local galleries to kids and families,” she says. “ It’s about starting to get kids and families to walk in the door and look at art in a meaningful and make some art themselves.”

Kids Art Walk includes an art treasure hunt for kids and hands-on activities. Four different galleries, Schilling Studio Gallery; Lustre, An Artisan Gallery; Telluride Gallery of Fine Art; and Stronghouse Studios and Gallery are opening their door for kids to come and explore. Other entities such as the Ah Haa School for the Arts, Wilkinson Public Library and Hopscotch will offer hands-on art activities.

For kids and families to navigate the Art Walk, Jones developed a treasure map that will be available at all participating venues. On one side is a description of the seven elements of art, including things like texture, color and lines, followed by prompts, or activities kids can do while looking at the art.  Examples include, “Choose an art work that has texture,” or “Did the artist repeat any lines?” On the other side, there is the actual map depicting where the participating galleries and organizations are and which will have hands-on activities.

This Thursday is the first of the summer season’s Kid’s Art Walk. For more information, watch Kate Jones and featured Stronghouse artist Luci Reeve talk about Kid’s Art Walk and the hands-on project at Stronghouse.