The Gadsden Arts Center & Museum partnered with the National Hookup of Black Women – Gadsden and the early learning coalition of the Big Bend to host Gadsden Arts Family Day.
This event was held Saturday, June 24, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Families created and shared art and celebrated Gadsden County.
Sarah Black-Sadler, a museum educator, said that this family day was different.
“Today’s event is kind of a special one-off event, we always do family days in December alongside the Holiday Mistletoe market,” Black-Sadler said. “But this year we added this family day to go along with Gadsden County’s 200th-anniversary celebration.”
Their activities introduced families to their major exhibition, Golden Legacy which includes original art from 80 years of golden books, which will be on view in the Sara May gallery through July 15.
The National Hookup of Black Women carried out one of their initiatives–literacy–by reading stories to the children during story time.
Germaine Kirkland, a member of NHBW, shared why they do what they do.
“We find any opportunity to partner, so we partner with Gadsden Arts and so whenever they have events we come out,” Kirkland said. “Our part is to do story time and greet at the door, but story time is what we love to do.”
Other activities included sidewalk chalk, face painting and the art zone.
Twelve-year-old Kelan Corley enjoyed taking images from different magazines to create his Golden Legacy collage character, one of the activities a part of the art zone.
More than 130 people attended the event and 11 volunteers helped run the events.
Every child was able to leave with a free Golden Book and an art at-home kit.
Families also enjoyed art in four other galleries, featuring illustrations by Elizabeth Lampman-Davis, embroidery by Carole Fiore, and paintings by Mr. Eddy Mumma.
Gadsden Arts is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the art zone walk-in studio is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.gadsdenarts.org.
Ranyah McCloud – Gadsden County News Service
