Artful Afternoon for Familes @ UMFA (SLC: July 17)

Artful Afternoon
Free Celebration for Families at the UMFA on July 17, 2010


Salt Lake City, UT- It’s a party at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) and the whole family is invited! On July 17 from 1-4 pm, the UMFA will present Artful Afternoon in the Marcia and John Price Museum Building at the University of Utah. This special program for families is devoted to art, creativity, culture, and fun. Free and open to the public, this summer’s Artful Afternoon will be presented in conjunction with the current Las Artes de México exhibition.

The UMFA’s July 2010 Artful Afternoon will feature a variety of exciting activities, games, and live performances inspired by Mexican art and culture. The Mexican dance groups Ichantzinco Tlaloc and Danza Chinelos will entertain audiences with advanced footwork and rhythm, and the music groups Mariachi Real Jaliciense and Marimba Casa Chiapas will play fun Mexican music throughout the event. Families can attend a Náhuatl poetry reading, watch children’s television programs in Spanish, meet KUED Vme characters Maya and Miguel, and even touch millipedes, cockroaches, stink bugs, and other Mexican insects in the Utah Museum of Natural History Bug Brigade. Other Artful Afternoon events include puppet activities with Discovery Gateway, carnival games, and loteria (Mexican bingo).

At Artful Afternoon, kids and their parents will have many opportunities to make and learn about art. Families can create their own colorful sidewalk murals at a chalk drawing station, make their own puppet masks using art supplies, and embark on an art treasure hunt through Las Artes de Mexico and other galleries throughout the Museum.

The UMFA’s July 2010 Artful Afternoon is inspired by the current exhibition, Las Artes de México, on view through September 26, 2010. Las Artes de México explores the richness of Mexican art and culture, from the ancient work of the Mayans and Aztecs through the twentieth century. The exhibition includes a broad array of artifacts such as woven fabrics, masks, and religious objects from Mesoamerica (pre-Conquest Mexico), as well as paintings by modernist masters like Rufino Tamayo, Jose Clemente Orozco, and Diego Rivera. More information on the exhibition can be found at www.umfa.utah.edu/mexico.

This Artful Afternoon celebration is generously sponsored by eBay and funded in part by the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks fund. Admission to the UMFA will be free all day on July 17, 2010.

Don’t miss the biggest family art celebration you’ll find this summer...Artful Afternoon!

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The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is located in the Marcia and John Price Museum Building on the University of Utah campus at 410 Campus Center Drive. General admission is $7 adults, $5 seniors and youth ages 6-18, free for children 5 and under, University of Utah students, faculty, staff and UMFA Members. Free admission offered the third Saturday of each month. Museum hours are Tue – Fri 10 am – 5 pm, Wed 10 am – 8 pm, Weekends 11 am – 5 pm; closed Mondays and Holidays. For more information call (801) 581-7332 or visit www.umfa.utah.edu . Artful Afternoon is sponsored by eBay and funded in part by the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks Program.