Shifting the museum paradigm, Young At Art Museum takes a sophisticated design approach to bridging the gap between an adult art museum and a children’s museum. The art museum for children features 22,000 SF of exhibit space designed by Architecture Is Fun, rich in branded environments, art installations and art-making opportunities. The John S. & James L. Knight Foundation says that Young At Art Museum is “one of South Florida’s most transformative arts initiatives”.
The interior exhibits, galleries and art installations were enhanced by layers of meaning and method. All throughout the museum, there is beauty and the development of aesthetic study:
° A participatory design approach beginning with a museum symposium questioning Euro-centric approaches concludes with 70 artists and creative disciplines represented in the galleries, connecting art with making, seeing with critical thinking, art objects with art-making, with beauty and aesthetic study throughout.
° Young artists engage in socially transformative experiences and art-making grounded in the critique of art, architecture, design, history and culture.
° Developed in a public/private partnership with Broward County, this art museum for children shares one responsible facility with a county library, connecting art and experience to literacy and story, while creating awareness of the built and natural environment.
° An elegant and clever approach to enfolding experience, education, and exhibit equally, the innovative design forges thematic galleries where art-making, art installation and art-centric environments transform learning about art into using art for learning.
° Four core galleries define learning through art: ArtScapes: discover art’s histories and your place amongst its timeline, CultureScapes: understand artful traditions and bridging cultures, NatureScapes: call attention to nature’s fragility, and WonderScapes: delight in the joy of early learning.
° Through hands-on experiences and acts of art-making, young artists engage in critical thinking, observation, and problem-solving, nurturing creativity, collaboration and innovation.
° In addition to hosting interactive galleries, the design delineates engaging public space that is adopted for a wide range of community, museum, and library use.
Simultaneously artful and art-filled, the design is motivation and map of a new sector of socially inventive museums, the art museum for children.