Families with children are invited to learn about Andy Warhol and create their own painting based on several of the pop artist’s most iconic images — Marilyn Monroe, Campbell’s Soup cans, flowers, and endangered species — Saturday, March 31, as Warhol in the Park comes to downtown Palm Springs.
The free community education event — presented by the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation and Palm Springs Life — takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. across from Palm Springs Art Museum. All participants receive a free family pass to see the museum’s current exhibition, Andy Warhol: Prints From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, which continues through May 25.
Fashion Week El Paseo hosted the first Warhol in the Park event last Sunday, when more than 100 children from around the Coachella Valley converged on the Palm Desert event and posted their work on big walls outside the runway tent.
In addition to Saturday’s event in Palm Springs, Warhol in the Park will pop up at two more locations in the central and eastern Coachella Valley:
• April 7 — Old Town Artisan Studios in La Quinta
• May 6 — Veterans Memorial Park in Coachella
“Art in the park — Andy Warhol would love it!,” says Schnitzer, who attended the Palm Desert event. “Warhol was the first artist to make art available to everyone, everywhere, not just in museums. He is the most important artist of the last 50 years. Warhol’s art speaks to all of us, whether you are 2 or 102.”
At the events, each participant receives a free large-format Warhol in the Park painting workbook and a variety of paint colors and brushes. When they finish painting, they can display their work on a wall that expands with the community’s participation.
California Desert Arts Council (CDAC) joins the event’s other education partners, which include Bianca Rae Foundation, City of Palm Desert, CODA Gallery, Old Town Artisan Studios, and The Rowan Palm Springs.
“CDAC is pleased to play a role in introducing the art of Andy Warhol to the children of the Coachella Valley,” says Christi Salamone, the nonprofit organization’s president and CEO. “Arts education promotes creative problem solving and critical thinking, connects students to the work, while also having a positive effect on motivation, attitude, and attendance.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, creative activities play an important role in child development. Many of the motions involved in making art, such as holding a paintbrush or scribbling with a crayon, are essential to the development of dexterity, motor skills, language, decision-making, visual learning, and inventiveness. Learning to create and appreciate visual aesthetics promotes cultural awareness and overall improved academic performance.
Warhol in the Park aims to support these important building blocks by inviting local children to participate in a fun and enriching art experience.
Additional sponsorship for Warhol in the Park is provided by El Paseo Jewelers.
