Nov. 19, 2007 – Make-and-take art for families is now regularly available in the University of Virginia Art Museum’s new and growing hands-on space. During "Art JAMs," families have the chance to explore one of the museum’s exhibitions or works of art along with a studio instructor, and then to create art related to what they saw and learned from the art. Designed for children ages 4 through 12 and their families, Art JAMs allow kids to interact with art and bring out the young artist in themselves!

On Dec. 8, the Art JAM will be based on an exhibition currently featured at the museum, "The Dresser Trunk Project." The exhibition consists approximately 11 display trunks telling stories of places of refuge during the Jim Crow era. The sites, all stops along the Southern Crescent, the train connecting New Orleans and New York, represent places where people came together during times of segregation in the South. The trunks feature stories, photographs, maps, hotel registers and computer-generated models of the way places may have looked at the time. There are trunks showing baseball stadiums, hotels and train stations, among other things. Families can explore these trunks and then make their own art based on what they saw and felt.

Family Art JAM sessions are from 1 to 3 p.m. for 4- to 7-year-olds and their families, and from 3 to 5 p.m. for 7- to 12-year-olds and their families. The cost is $5 for a member and up to two children, $12 for a non-member and up to two children, and $2 for each additional child. Reservations are required call (434) 243-2050); drop-ins are permitted if space is available.

"The Dresser Trunk Project" exhibition is made possible with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Graham Foundation, Amtrak, the Arts Enhancement Fund and Arts$.
 
The University of Virginia Art Museum is open to the public, free of charge, Tuesdays through Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. For information, call (434) 924-3592 or visit www.virginia.edu/artmuseum.