VERO BEACH — Both the young and the young at heart shared in the experiences at the Vero Beach Museum of Art on Saturday at the 26th annual Community Celebration. This fun-filled free event was created for the public to enjoy the vibrant and diverse offerings of our local museum.
Opening the doors to share the cultural excellence which is provided everyday here in Vero Beach was sponsored by Publix Super Markets Charities. It was an event to welcome both new and regular visitors; it was a day filled with workshops and tours led by museum curators, volunteers, and docents.
This annual event is held each year to invite the community to become more familiar with the museum’s diverse and extraordinary programs. The day was comprised of art collections, photography, a community mural in progress, demonstrations of watercolor basics, oil and acrylics, faculty artist exhibitions, hands-on activities, and artist spotlight presentations.
“We have the largest educational program of any museum in Florida,” said Barbara Neubarth, Vero Beach Museum of Art Board of Directors and Chairman of the Education Committee. “We have a large community outreach program, summer camps, and year round public classes for children and adults.”
The look of wonder and curious fascination was abound on children’s faces as they explored hand in hand with their parents and grandparents soaking up the surrounding mediums of art. Every corner of the museum was filled with artists demonstrating their individual and unique talents as they interacted with visitors.
One of the most popular stopping points was the breathtaking collection in the Beckwith Sculpture Park by Matthew Geller called Woozy Blossom. Large crowds were seen in front of a prominently displayed 16-foot metallic tree that produces clouds of foggy mist creating an interactive construction. Just a few feet away were rows of tables of children creating wire art sculptures expressing their own interpretation of the art surrounding them.
“Activities are tied into the exhibitions to encourage children to have a relationship with art,” explained Joe Ellis, spokesman for the museum.
Just beyond the tree sculpture were visitors gathering around the inspiring large scale paintings by Tom Najashima. This collection features images from piles of tree branches silhouetted against the ground or sky each telling a story through symbolism and interpretation.
Across the hall in the Stark Gallery, visitors crowded around the Stephen Knapp’s brilliant exhibition, called Lightpaintings, a spectacular display using light reflections as a transformational collection of selective prisms of glowing shapes and hues.
The hosts of this incredible community event exuded the museum’s strong belief that the visual arts and humanities make a tremendous difference in our lives.
“This is an exciting event because it gives us an opportunity to share the museum at its best,” School and Youth Programs Manager Shanti Sanchez. said, “People come in, meet and observe our artists and teachers in action as they present and demonstrate their art. This is a real interactive event which we love doing every year.”
