Surrounded by five colorful artworks, Liana sits in a small circle of her friends excitedly pointing to a vibrant pink-and-blue abstract painting.
“It’s a music machine!” the 5-year-old girl exclaims, leaping to her feet and dancing to the type of song she imagines Richard Anuszkiewicz’s Reflection VII-Red Line might play if it was tuned like a radio.
Liana’s reaction to this painting is indicative of the surprising and unfiltered ways that young children may interpret visual art. Her response is one of many included in the exhibition Symbolic Languages: Children’s Understandings of the Collection, on view Saturday, Jan. 18, through Sunday, May 11, at the Rollins Museum of Art (RMA).
Curatorial Process
Symbolic Languages was collaboratively curated by 50 children between the ages of 2 and 5 enrolled in the laboratory preschool at the Rollins College Hume House Child Development and Student Research Center (CDC).
The yearlong curatorial process included both individual sessions where the children selected their favorite artworks and small-group discussions like the one Liana participated in. The children’s choices and responses to the artworks directly informed the exhibition’s organization into three distinct sections: Power of Color, Fantastical Narratives, and Exploring Self.
Power of Color
Throughout the selection process, the children consistently chose Chuck Close’s “Lucas” as their favorite artwork, often citing the woodcut’s many “rainbow” colors as their reason. This section of the show, The Power of Color, includes Close’s print and four other artworks that the children found engaging for their vibrant hues. It also includes two of four interactive stations integrated throughout the show. Modeled after the art-appreciation teaching strategies used with the children at the CDC, these interactive stations give visitors of all ages an opportunity to creatively respond to the art on view. For one station in Power of Color, visitors are invited to “paint” on boards with sticky notes, felt ribbon, and magnetic shapes.
Frequent visitors to art museums may find the interactive stations surprising—after all, the first rule of museums is not to touch the objects. Hand symbols appear near the stations to assist in differentiating what should and shouldn’t be handled.
Fantastical Narratives
As children develop, they begin to tell increasingly complex stories. The Fantastical Narratives section includes storybooks collaboratively authored and illustrated by the preschoolers and inspired by three different portraits. Though the paintings may have served as initial prompts, the children were encouraged to be creative and share freely.
One story imagines the subject of Gregory Gillespie’s “Portrait of Artist as Old Man” on a quest to find friends, a journey that takes him from a dumpster to a castle. Visitors are encouraged to sit and read the storybooks in the seating area provided.
The storybooks are an example of how Symbolic Languages intends to activate the museum’s collection in a new, unexpected way. Rather than didactics sharing historical information about a work, the stories are fantastical interpretations—a reminder of the manifold ways we may come to appreciate visual art.
Exploring Self
In preschool, children begin forming a sense of identity, discovering personal preferences, and honoring unique abilities. The Exploring Self section includes two artworks that evoked self-reflection among the child curators.
Featured in this section is Nick Cave’s “Drive-By,” a video artwork in which performers in colorful costumes dance, tumble, and move in a mesmerizing way. In place of a traditional written label, a tablet is installed next to the work that shows a video documenting the children using colored scarves and mannequins to express their feelings about Cave’s performance.
Making Museums More Inviting
Symbolic Languages is just one way RMA tries to serve young visitors. We also offer free family programs like Family Studio, a monthly Saturday-morning program for children ages 5-10 with an accompanying adult that includes a gallery tour and art activity. At the front desk, visitors may also pick up a free gallery guide in English or Spanish that includes writing and drawing prompts for school-aged children to complete as they explore the museum.
More broadly, Symbolic Languages contributes to a national effort to make museums more accessible and inviting to children. One notable initiative that inspired our show was the Clyfford Still Museum’s 2022 exhibition Clyfford Still, Art, and the Young Mind, for which the museum engaged 250 children in their curatorial process. As part of the programming for Symbolic Languages, the Clyfford Still Museum’s Director of Learning and Engagement, Nicole Cromartie, will present a free, public lecture focused on sharing curatorial authority with children at RMA on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
By embracing the creativity and fresh perspectives of children, Symbolic Languages reminds us that art is for everyone. It encourages visitors to rediscover the joy of art and its endless potential for interpretation, inviting us all to see art as a dynamic, evolving experience.
Visit Rollins Museum of Art Tuesday-Sunday. Admission is free.
The statements made in this sponsored post are those of the paid sponsor and not Orlando Weekly. Orlando Weekly staff was not involved in development of this post.This article appears in Jan 15-21, 2025.