Family Programs

Imagination Station — Returns!
Saturdays 1 – 2 pm starting September 19
Instructors: Julie Healy and Aggie Wszolkowski
Member adults free, nonmember adults $12, children $6

Our popular drop-in weekend program returns every Saturday. This program will be held in the Museum galleries and will focus on a different artwork or theme each week. Families will be engaged in active looking, lively discussion, interactive activities and scavenger hunts, and have a unique opportunity to sketch in the galleries. Space is limited.


• February 27 – In Motion – Rose Piper (1917-2005) Slow Down Freight Train
• March 6 – Me and Matisse (Janet Taylor Pickett)
• March 13 – Sweet Treats (Sharon Con – Pie Counter & Martha Rosler – Cakes and Kitchen)
• March 20 – Generations (Elizabeth Catlett)
• March 27 – Lets Dance (William Merrit Chase – A Tambourine Player)
• April 3 – Identity – Lorna Simpson
• April 10 – Pop Art (Robert Rauschenberg & Andy Warhol )
• April 17 – Warm Breeze (Edward Hopper –Coast Guard Station)
• April 24 – Out at Sea (James McNeal Whistler – The Sea Antonio Jacobsen – City of Berlin)
• May 1 – Memories and Heritage (Whitfield Lovell – Trap & Melvin Edwards – Mamelodi)
• May 8 – Laughter (Steve Wheeler (1912-1992) Laughing Boy)
• May 15 – Faces Faces (William Ellisworth Artis – Bust of Miss Colemas Richard Barthe – Blackberry Woman Auguste Savoge –Gamis)
• May 22 – Textiles (Lamar Baker - Textile Tangle and Fabric)
• May 29 – Cancelled - Memorial Day Weekend
• June 5 – Hudson River School (Asher B. Durand – Early Morning at Cold Spring)
• June 12 – In Your Face - Portraits of Children
• June 19 – Ah Architecture
• June 26 – Summertime (Childe Hassam (1859-1935), Summer at Cape Cod)

MAM PARK BENCH
Second Wednesday of the month, 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Free with Museum admission
STORYTELLING IS NOW AVAILABLE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH

Parents with young children will enjoy MAM Park Bench, a program that introduces children to the Museum and provides them with an artistic social outing. Get acquainted with other parents and young children, work on fun art projects, and experience a guided tour of the Museum. Storytelling in the galleries is provided courtesy of the Children’s Services Department of the Montclair Public Library. Local native Spanish educator Nieves Cespedes will conduct storytelling in Spanish.

  • March 10 — The City
  • April 14 — Totem Poles
  • May 12 — Color!
  • June 9 — The Ocean

HOMESCHOOL DAY, 12 – 2 pm (Ages 4 – 13)
$6 per child. Adults $12.
(FREE for ADULT members)

The Montclair Art Museum invites you and other Homeschooling families for a fun and educational afternoon. These two-hour programs will include a gallery tour and studio art project led by a Museum educator. 

 

  • March 18 - Drawing Into Sculpture
  • April 21 - Illustrating a Narrative with Mixed Media
  • May 20 - Native American Symbols and Patterns
  • June 16 - Georgia O'Keeffe Large Scale Nature Drawing

Building Montclair in LEGOTM
Sunday, March 7, 2 – 4 p.m.
$30 per family (advance registration required)

Work with architect Stephen W. Schwartz of Building Blocks Workshops to visualize your community as you’ve never seen it before. With over 50,000 LEGOTM building blocks at their disposal, families will be given a photograph of a specific building in Montclair to turn into a LEGOTM model. These building models will then be placed on a 30 x 20 ft map of downtown Montclair. Suitable for families with children ages 5–14. Maximum four persons per group, with at least one adult per group. Space is limited to 50 families for the two-hour event and a parent or adult must accompany children.

Registration available at Coldwell Banker, 736 Valley Road and 242 Bellevue Avenue, Upper Montclair. Registration for the event begins February 12. For registration and map call Coldwell Banker (973) 233-2300; for more information about the event, call MAM (973) 746-5555, ext. 253.


Co-presented by the Montclair Historical Society and the Montclair Art Museum in conjunction with Building Block Workshop. This Building Block Workshop is designed by Stephen W. Schwartz, AIA Architect of SWS ARCHITECTS of Livingston, NJ. The proud sponsors of this year’s event include Jeff Farrell of Cambridge Restoration and Construction and Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, 736 Valley Rd. Upper Montclair.

Scholastics Art & Writing Competition
Northern NJ Regional Gold Key Exhibition
February 11 – March 10

The Montclair Art Museum has been selected as the Northern New Jersey Regional Affiliate for the Alliance for Young Writers and Artists Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a national program that recognizes outstanding visual art and writing created by teenagers. Approximately 30,000 artists and writers in grades 7­–12 from across the United States receive recognition annually on the regional level. This exhibition features artworks that received top honors by our jury and will then be considered for national awards later in the spring.

FREE Family Day
Sunday, March 28, 1 – 5 p.m.
FREE

This Museum-wide Family Day celebrates the nature of African American art and culture through dance themes and choreography. Montclair State University’s Dance Department, both faculty and students, will be performing works by various African American choreographers throughout the day. The Leir Hall performances will spotlight important works of African American choreography, including the work of Pearl Primus (1919–1994). Primus herself is a Rosenwald Fund recipient, dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. A Force for Change: African American Art and the Julius Rosenwald Fund exhibition will provide the perfect inspiration for a full day of Museum exploration, including gallery activities and fun art projects for the entire family to enjoy.

Free Family Days are made possible, in part, by The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey.

WBGO and NJPAC KIDS JAZZ Concert
Saturday, April 17, 12:30 p.m.
FREE

Discover America’s musical art form at the WBGO Kids Jazz Concert series. Guest artists will play, and a discussion will take place about jazz with rhythms. These interactive, hour-long concerts give kids the opportunities to learn about the distinct qualities of jazz and why it’s a reflection of our community, our nation, and our world. Q&A sessions with the artists will follow the concert. Adults must be accompanied by a young person.

The WBGO and NJPAC Kids Jazz Series is sponsored by JP Morgan Chase and NJPAC’S Wachovia Jazz for teens.