— Many parents believe that serious art is too complex and boring for little ones. Or they understand the value of art, but don't know how and when to start introducing their child to it. I often like to discuss such important and deep topics with people who inspire and help us, parents, to open up the world for our children. This time I have the great pleasure of talking to Polina Rode-Fuior — a Ukrainian children's writer, culturologist, and author of educational art projects for preschoolers. Polina, let's start with the basics: why do little kids need art at all, and can they understand it?

 

— We are used to thinking of museums as places for adult "intellectual" leisure. Well-dressed people stand in front of paintings, discussing them using long words and complex sentence structures. But what if I tell you that it's actually a space for games, too? That preschoolers can sometimes interpret paintings no worse than art critics? And that toddlers can get pleasure and benefit from looking at artworks? Let's take it one step at a time.

 

 

Why do children need art?

 

Art is a great source of information: both about the world and about ourselves. By introducing a child to the art of different eras, we help them build a more detailed picture of the world and its history, enriching narratives with visual imagery. And enriching visual experience opens the door to independent creativity. Shapes, colors, characters, figures, plots, textures, techniques — children "take" all this out of galleries to later embody it in their own drawings, having passed it through themselves. Or perhaps not in drawings, because obviously, not everyone needs to become an artist or even like drawing. The acquired visual experience can be useful in completely different areas of life in the future: from the ability to successfully combine colors in clothing to the ability to choose an apt reference for a new smartphone's ad campaign.

 

Art is incredibly diverse, and the beauty of it is that we absolutely do not have to like all art. If you listen closely to yourself, you can understand what exactly you like. And then it can help in understanding and experiencing your own emotions, as well as teach children to understand other people's emotions. While looking at Pablo Picasso's Boy with a Dog, ask the child what the boy in the painting is thinking about. What is he feeling right now, and why did the child decide so? And then discuss why the artist decided to paint this specific moment. And accept all of the child's answers, because there are no wrong answers here. The process of the child's interaction with the painting is much more important than searching for the sometimes non-existent "what the author meant to say."

 

 

Ask the child to describe the painting, what they see — this is a training of visual analysis and speech development. Repeat the pose of a sculpture — and that's gross motor skills development. Try redrawing a painting into a sketchbook right in the gallery — and you get a full-fledged lesson with elements of composition and spatial orientation on a sheet of paper, which is necessary for learning to read, for example.

 

Perhaps it's not so obvious, but children's creativity contains a set of very important practical skills that we develop in children. And then it becomes clear that introducing a child to art is not limited to reading and memorizing the names of paintings. It is a deep, creative, engaging process in which the child grows harmoniously.

 

 

— This resonates incredibly well, especially about the child's perspective! Recently, in Uzhhorod, we went on a tour at Voyt Art Gallery. I warned my daughter not to touch the artworks, but the owners, overhearing my instructions, said: "No, no, we are not that kind of gallery, kids can touch everything here!" It just melted my heart. We had a similar experience in Lviv at the "Ratio" exhibition, where entire interactive rooms were created for children. In other words, modern galleries feel the need to involve little ones in the process. But how do we overcome the basic fears of parents if we go to a more classical museum, where the child will want to touch everything or will quickly get bored?

 

 

— Probably, the most common fears of parents planning a family museum visit with preschoolers are: 1) children will want to touch the paintings; 2) children will get bored because parents don't know what to say about the paintings; 3) children will be noisy and disturb other visitors.

 

And if even one of these thoughts is familiar to you, I will try to rid you of them. The Museum Bag (that's what I call it) will help you with the first issue. The principle is very simple: if the child has something to keep their hands busy and a safe way to interact with the painting is available, it will minimize the desire to touch the artworks.

 

What you can put in your Museum Bag:

  • a small notepad or a clipboard with blank sheets of paper and colored pencils;

  • a magnifying glass, binoculars;

  • printed reproductions of paintings (they can be drawn on, cut up, and put together like a puzzle);

  • colored transparent films (to look at paintings through them, "mix" colors by overlapping the films);

  • air-dry clay;

  • small toys (to schematically recreate the composition, give the toys their own tour).

 

 

The contents of the Museum Bag vary from museum to museum, with the child's age, and depend on whether you decided to prepare extensively for the visit (for example, by making a full-fledged quest through the gallery) or if it's an almost spontaneous visit. But believe me, even just one toy in the child's hands will greatly simplify your visit. And you can also always run into the museum shop before the visit and buy 1-2 postcards with reproductions. And a spontaneous visit turns into a detective agency game, where you have to find the hidden painting among hundreds of others on the gallery walls.

 

— Wow, the "Museum Bag" is genius! By the way, regarding quests: this year, at the  "NASHI" exhibition in Lviv, my daughter was given a list of tasks at the entrance that she had to complete in the gallery. For completing the checklist, they gave a prize. Of course, at first, the excitement and temptation of getting a gift turned out to be stronger than the art — she ran quickly between the halls to finish everything. But as soon as she got the prize, she returned to calm contemplation. This is a great life hack: if the gallery doesn't organize something like this itself, parents can prepare a notepad with their own quest for the child in advance. But what about explanations? What do you tell a child about paintings if you are not an art critic at all?

 

 

— "What to tell the child if I am not an art critic?", the answer is – nothing. You can say absolutely nothing and know nothing about the paintings in the hall, and this will not prevent you from enjoying the visit, playing with your child, discussing the paintings with them, and building your own dialogue with art. For this, three steps are enough for you:

 

  1. What do I see? Ask the child to name everything they noticed in the painting: who is depicted, what is happening, what the colors are, what is around. Try to describe it in detail, to notice the smallest things.

  2. What is the plot? At this stage, build connections between the characters in the painting or objects or phenomena. What is this painting about? A hint question: "Try to guess what the story is here."

  3. What emotions does this evoke? And here we talk about what emotions this painting evokes in us, what meanings are embedded in it. Why did the artist show us this moment?

 

For confidence, you can even make cards with these questions and, together with the child, look for answers to them step by step.

 

 

Well, returning to the third fear of noisy children, I can say this. Not only do children need museums, but museums also need children. The generation that will grow up surrounded by art will become adults who will come to galleries to spend time just like in a park or a coffee shop. These kids will be interested in art, follow new exhibitions, and bring friends there. They won't need to be lured into the museum space; they will choose to go there themselves. And, believe a person who has worked in this field and now takes her own kids to museums — museum institutions and employees overwhelmingly understand this perfectly well. That is why in a large number of museums around the world, many activities for the little ones have already been implemented, the museum space is adapted to the needs of families with children, and interactive elements are added to the halls. And there will be more and more of this. So do not hesitate, pack your museum bag, and go to the museum with the whole family.

 

 

— This is incredibly inspiring! But what about those families who currently don't have the opportunity to frequently visit galleries or travel to other cities? How can you invite art into your home and introduce children to it?

 

— Yes, art can indeed be invited into your home, because not all paintings can be seen in a gallery in your city. Therefore, you can get acquainted with art without even leaving home. If we are talking about the youngest appreciators of beauty (under one year old), then I have two wonderful posts in my blog where you can find examples of paintings to show and the principles of how to do it.

 

For children aged one and older, you can organize a permanent corner with painting reproductions. I advise taking one artist per month and no more than 5-6 paintings. You can either hang all the paintings at once, or, for example, add 1-2 to the wall at the beginning of the week.

 

Offer the child to examine each work independently, go through the three interpretation steps I gave above. You can offer them to look at the painting for 5 minutes independently (an hourglass or other visual timer will help a lot here), and then turn the painting face down and ask the child to tell you everything they remember about the painting. After that, look at the painting together again and discuss it.

 

For 2-3-year-olds, choose simple, understandable plots. Still lifes, landscapes with clear signs of the season, children's portraits, animalism, and botanical painting. For children 4-6 years old, complex works with a non-obvious plot or mood, where they can give free rein to their own imagination, can be more interesting.

 

And the best way to process all this array of art information will be creative projects inspired by the style or specific works of artists. Recreating appliqués à la Matisse, planting your own paper water lilies on a pond-plate (which Monet would definitely like), cutting out bizarre noses and eyes for a cubist-style portrait collage à la Picasso — not only the child will enjoy doing all this, but you too. And this already builds new bridges between you and the child, adds another option for quality time together, and creates such warm memories.

 

 

— Polina, thank you so much for such an inspiring conversation and practical tools! I am sure that after this article, many parents will look at family trips to galleries completely differently. And for those who want to invite art into their home today and do it easily and engagingly, I highly recommend checking out Polina's author materials:

 

  1. Polina Rode-Fuior's Book — a wonderful tool for reading together and immersing yourselves in the world of art. It will help make your conversations about the beautiful even deeper and more interesting. (Link: More about the book and ordering)

  2. Activity Book "Spring in Painting" (printable PDF format) This collection is perfect if you:

    The collection features 24 paintings, carefully selected by a mother-culturologist. They introduce the child to various signs of spring, give an opportunity to look at it through the eyes of artists from different times and countries. Simple, understandable plots and familiar formats of tasks — all this creates a very pleasant experience of contact with art.

    • are looking for an easy way to "enter" the topic of art;

    • don't know how to present paintings to a child outside a gallery;

    • want your child to know how to look and notice.

 

The collection is best suited for children aged 3-6. (Link: Purchase and download the collection "Spring in Painting")