JMKAC programs for family

If looking for a place to engage the minds of your children, while stimulating your own imagination, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan invites you to explore its programs.

Aside from 16,000 square feet of exhibition space celebrating the diversity of the country with the American Story exhibition, there are a variety of workshops and performances designed specifically with families in mind.

“People who set foot inside our doors are just amazed at the opportunities that await them,” said Shannon Luckey, John Michael Kohler Arts Center manager of marketing and public relations.

“We have performances geared specifically to families; we have free art opportunities in the ARTery and even serve fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies in the ARTcafe. It’s a family destination.”

The ARTery is located just inside the main doors of the Arts Center. This destination offers a wide assortment of art and crafts projects suitable for everyone from toddlers to grandparents. Well-planned programs are available in a number of art forms from painting rocks and piecing together sculptures to blowing bubbles, reading books and more.

“We really thrive on uniting the projects our guests can make with the exhibits found around the galleries. There are many projects that you can make and take home with you, and others that are collaborative efforts to help build a community piece that we display on-site,” said Elsa Lenz Kothe, John Michael Kohler Arts Center education and community arts coordinator.

Inspired by the work of Gregory van Maanen, rising artists are invited to paint and decorate rocks. Van Maanen paints daily on boards, stones, found animal bones, and other things in order to process and maintain a healthy relationship with the souls that have lived inside his head ever since he was left for dead in the war fields of Vietnam.

Children and their parents can get dirty Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the Arts Center garden, located across the street from the Arts Center. Anyone can be part of the Garden Club, which meets at 2 p.m. to help tend the garden and assist in larger projects associated with the garden. Currently growing there are tomatoes, peppers, oregano, basil, rosemary, carrots, lettuce and beets.

If building a sculpture is more your style, then browse works by blind artist Hawkins Bolden and then create your own three-dimensional scarecrows, which can be installed in the Arts Center community garden or brought home with you.

Also found in the ARTery are paints, yarn for wrapping objects as part of the nkisi form of art and a reading area stocked with books on cultural myths, gardening in Wisconsin, poetry and more, all complementing the work of all the artists in the American Story exhibition.

ARTery workshops change throughout the year to coincide with the exhibitions. Visit www.jm kac.org or call the Arts Center at (920) 458-6144 for details on additional programming.

Ethnic Family Festivals

Designed specifically for those with families of all ages are Family Festivals. The series, held Nov. 14, 2009, Jan. 23, 2010 and April 24, 2010, is a multidisciplinary experience offering engaging performances, art-making activities, storytelling experiential workshops, demonstrations, observation of cultural objects and ethnic foods.

Each Family Festival runs 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. and is appropriate for people of all ages. On Saturday, Nov. 14, is Family Festival: Hmong. The program includes a performance by ICE (Infusing Cultures Entertainment) that teaches the history and culture of the Hmong people; Hmong basket and jewelry-making workshops; and a sampling of Hmong foods such as sweet rice, Hmong sausages and mustard greens soup.

Family Festival: Poland, on Jan. 23, 2010, features Syrena and Syrenka Polish Folk Dance Ensemble from Milwaukee; and Family Festival: Caribbean is being held April 24, 2010, with Goongoo Peas, a dance workshop and Caribbean story telling. Each workshop offers ethnic foods, available for a nominal fee, workshops and more.

Footlights Family Series

Performances with hands-on opportunities designed for all ages are available through the Footlights Family Series. These programs are available earlier in the evening than traditional Footlights performances and feature shorter shows designed to encourage a lifelong love for artistic performances.

The first of the series is Oct. 13, 6:30 p.m., with the hip-hop legend Rennie Harris’ dance company, Rennie Harris Pure Movement; Nov. 19, 6:30 p.m. is Harmonia featuring eastern European gypsy music; March 12-13 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 14, 2 p.m., is the Connecting Communities collaboration with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, a contemporary dance theatre company; March 23, 6:30 p.m., is the jazz sounds of Lionel Loueke Trio; and April 20, 6:30 p.m., is a performance of Indian kathak dance and music by Chitresh Das Dance Company.

Dine at the ARTcafe

Families are invited to try a variety of cuisines from the ARTcafe, located within the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Lunch can be enjoyed outdoors on the Café Terrace while taking in views of the 19th century carriage house, head indoors to the ARTcafe. Specials vary daily. Sample menu items include lemon hummus appetizer or a fresh-baked cookie. The ARTcafe is open daily from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday evenings 5-7:30 p.m. and also prior to Footlights evening performances.