Quiet, stoic art museums might not be the first place you’d imagine a kid spending their time. For one, the common rules aren’t very conducive to a young person’s world – no loud sounds, and certainly no touching the things on the walls. For another, museums often aren’t actually set up for young people — pieces are set high on the wall, and accompanied text is long and advanced. Adding the cost of some museum tickets, it might not be easy to bring a child into the world of art through galleries.
One Connecticut non-profit puts that art on a bus and brings the museum to the child.
Clare Murray founded the art museum bus called cARTie along with her mother Tish. When they first started gathering information about the need for more arts accessibility, she said they found that about three-fourths of local elementary students lack access to art and museum-based learning. A study from the Americans for the Arts shows nearly a fifth of elementary schools across the country don’t offer access to visual arts education at all.
Aboard the art bus in front of Plumb Memorial Library in Shelton, Conn., surrounded by young families and interactive artwork, Murray shared how useful she believes art is in a young child’s development.
“We're planting the seeds for not only lifetimes ahead of art appreciation but [also for] those skills that feed into everything else, slowing down, thinking critically, being able to tap into our creativity, being able to appreciate others perspectives, being able to collaborate,” she said.
Parents agreed. Amanda Chmielewski and her daughter Ellie were at the library that day, and had the opportunity to experience the bus for the first time. As young Ellie peered at the art set at her height on the walls of the colorful bus and used her hands to feel small sculptures, her mom explained how important art is in helping her child express herself.
“She's currently not in school, so when we get to do things at the library, it's always great for her to be around other kids and do things like this,” said Chmielewski. “She really gets to socialize and just explore her creative mind. Whether they're happy or they’re sad, their emotions, their interests… there's just so much to create in a young mind. So I really think it's important.”
Both Tish and Clare Murray have a background in education, and cARTie mainly serves preschool and elementary school-age kids. The bus goes to schools but also stops in community spaces like libraries.
Joan Stokes, who directs the library system in Shelton, said resources like cARTie are major additions to what the library already offers.
“I have a granddaughter… she loves art so much,” said Stokes. “When she was seven, she said, “I wish I could just hug all the colors.” This is how art affected her. Anytime we can bring art, we can bring music to the community, and we can involve children – we know that it helps us as librarians, certainly daily, and it absolutely helps the kids, too.”
Stokes, parents, and the cARTie team said they know how important it is to make art accessible to everyone, regardless of age. And when they board the bus with the kids, they see why.
