JUNE 2022
To our families & education partners
This will be our last issue of ArtVenture for the summer, but we will see you again in the fall! We’ve packed this ArtVenture issue with exhibitions and events you can attend throughout June and the rest of the summer citywide, including those that celebrate Pride Month and Juneteenth.
June 2022 Calendar with upcoming Cool Culture events & select museum exhibitions and events Information on honoring Juneteenth with The Brooklyn Museum on Sunday, June 19th Cool Kidz! with an art making activity, borough-specific summer events, and the book of the month Educators’ Corner highlighting our closing Dialogue: Health + Wellbeing are Human Rights and Citywide Access Program enrollment for the 2022 - 2023 school year
Celebrating Another School Year! As this school year comes to a close, we invite you to take a moment to celebrate your students, your family and most importantly, yourself. Amidst an ongoing pandemic, discriminatory acts of violence against our BIPOC communties within our neighborhoods and beyond, this year has certainly been challenging for all of us. We encourage you to acknowledge the seemingly small or big ways you created spaces and practices of healing and artistic expression for your family, your community, your students, and yourself. Congratulations to the students preparing to move to the next grade level and to the caregivers and educators in supporting them along the way!
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june 2022 sunday
monday
tuesday Pride Month
wednesday 1
thursday 2
friday 3
saturday 4
Inclusive Saturday for Children with Autism, Children’s
Museum of the Arts [9:30-11am/virtual]
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Yoga on the Stoop, The Brooklyn Museum [10-11am/virtual]
Drop in On Design At Home: Pride Month Edition, Cooper Hewitt Museum [4-5:30pm/virtual]
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Poster Kids: Poster Shapes & Colors, Poster House [10:30am-12:15pm]
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Junteenth & Father’s Day
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Swagger and Tenderness: The South Bronx Portraits by John Ahearn & Rigoberto Torres, The Bronx Museum of the Arts
Art Lab in the Park: Street Lab at the Queens Museum [1-4pm]
Illuminating Histories™: National Caribbean Heritage Month & LBGTQIA+ Pride Month, Lewis Latimer House Museum [3:30-4:30pm]
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23 Storytime at The Met [10:30-11am]
Cool Culture honors Junteenth, Brooklyn Museum [11am-2pm] Other museum events end at 6pm
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18 Juneteenth Food Festival, Weeksville Heritage Center [12-7pm]
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25 Queens International Children’s Festival, Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning [12-5pm]
Juneteenth June 19, 1865 marks the day when Black people enslaved in Galveston, Texas learned about their liberation two years after the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Join us at The Brooklyn Museum on June 19th, 2022 from 11am to 2pm as we honor Juneteenth and support the ongoing movement for the liberation of Black lives! We’ve designed a Cool Culture Scavenger Hunt to take families and educators through the day’s activities: a sound bath meditation, art making, community mapping, a reading corner and a book giveaway. This day will be an afternoon of fun, learning, and reflection on what joy and freedom truly looks like in our communities, schools, and centers. We encourage you to invite your families and friends in your community to come along with you.
Interested in volunteering with us for our Juneteenth event? Please email us at volunteers@coolculture.org. Volunteers will support us in the setup and break down of the event, guest registration table, and assist staff at other stations throughout the day.
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COOL Kidz! SUMMER ACTIVITIES BY BOROUGH We know finding activities for the summer can be challenging, so we’ve compiled a short list of fun summer activities and exhibitions your families can participate in across the city. From art projects to yoga, an exhibit on play, and exploring plants and for, the selected activities align with this year’s Health + Wellbeing theme. Be sure to post pictures from your outings and tag Cool Culture on Instagram or Facebook so other families can be inspired to take a trip there as well!
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COOL Kidz! SUMMER ACTIVITIES BY BOROUGH Brooklyn Art in the Garden: Summer Thursdays Celebrate summer at Brooklyn Botanic Garden with music and dance performances on Thursday evenings [6:30pm - 7:30pm], presented in partnership with local arts organizations. Summer Thursdays will be held on Thursdays in June & July and are free with Garden admission. Play at BCM Come play at the exhibits in Brooklyn Children Museum! BCM’s favorite exhibits including Totally Tots, World Brooklyn, Neighborhood Nature, and The Nest are open for exploration. Book tickets here for a session on Thursdays, Fridays, or the weekend this summer. Manhattan Inclusive Saturday for Children with Autism Taking place on Saturday mornings [9:30am - 11:00am], these live virtual classes led by a teaching artist at the Children’s Museum of Art provide a free opportunity for children of all ages with Autism spectrum disorders to participate in a variety of tactile art-making experiences. First Fridays at Poster House Join Poster House on the First Friday of every month [10am - 9pm] for free admission and extended hours! Explore the museum’s latest exhibitions and get in on the fun by attending a tour, workshop, or activity throughout the day. Every First Friday is different, offering unique opportunities to engage with rotating exhibitions and the permanent collection. page 7
COOL Kidz! SUMMER ACTIVITIES BY BOROUGH Bronx Around the Kids’ Table Join the New York Botanical Garden at the kids’ table to connect with the plants that we eat. Around the Kids’ Table will be held until September 11, 2022 at various times Tuesday to Sunday. See here for more details. The Family Art Project Join The Family Art Project on Saturday and Sunday [10am - 1pm] at the Kerlin Learning Center at Wave Hill House. The Family Art Project is an intergenerational program for families to come together and make art inspired by nature. Visit here to register for specific dates and times. Staten Island Long Life Deities from the Collection Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is currently featuring an exhibition centered around Amitayus, the Buddha of Long Life. Yoga on the lawn Alice Austen House is hosting by-donation yoga classes throughout the summer with BeYoga on Saturdays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays during various times. See here for more information.
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COOL Kidz! SUMMER ACTIVITIES BY BOROUGH Queens Yoga Socrates Sculpture Park is offering free classes of Vinyasa Yoga – a series of flowing poses linked to awareness of the breath – with instructor Yojaida Estrella. Classes are designed for all experience levels. Participants should wear comfortable clothing and bring a mat or a towel. No RSVP or pre-registration required. Classes are on Saturdays [9:30am 10:30am & 11:00am - 12:00pm] and Sundays [10:00am 11:00am]. Art Lab in the Park Queens Museum is hosting a series of open-air creativity sessions operating bi-weekly from June to August on the following dates: June 1; June 15; July 6; July 20; August 3; and August 17. Located on the museum lawn in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Art Lab in the Park will offer creative activities and play time for children ranging from 3 12 years old. See the museum’s websites for specific dates and times.
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COOL Kidz! BOOK OF THE MONTH: CELEBRATING PRIDE They, She, He Easy as ABC by Maya Gonzalez and Matthew Sg
This month’s selection focuses on Pride Month and celebrates queer families. Pride month, now in its 53rd year, takes place each June to commemorate the 6-day Stonewall Uprising that took place in June 1969. In this Woke Read Alouds episode, Ki reads the book they, she, he, easy as ABC, focusing on why it's important for all of us to affirm people's identities. They give really simple and insightful offerings on how to do so in a way that encourages everyone to expand their understanding of gender. This readaloud is a great resource for families and kids alike, who are looking to understand pronouns and gender identity beyond the binary. It's engaging, silly, and simple to understand for families, teachers, and early learners alike! page 10
COOL Kidz! CREATING A WIND CHIME A wind chime is an ancient tool that has been a part of many cultures in Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean for the protection of sacred temples and to help farmers gauge the weather. Today, wind chimes can be used to center our attention to the present moment and to relax. Check out this wind chime making activity (also available in English, Spanish, and Mandarin) and similar art making activities on our website here. When you’re done creating your wind chime at home, consider adding it on a door in your house to create warm sounds to your space.
@coolculture
CoolCulture
Don’t forget to tag us in your creations on our social media platforms.
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Educators' Corner CURATORS FOR EDUCATORS: SEMINARS + DIALOGUES
“Give people what they need: food, medicine, clean air, pure water, trees and grass, pleasant homes to live in, some hours of work, more hours of leisure. Don't ask who deserves it. Every human being deserves it.” -Howard Zinn
We collaborated with the Brooklyn Museum on our final Dialogue: Health + Wellbeing Are Human Rights to close out this year’s Curators for Educators program. Together, educators engaged in a herbal meditation and were led through The Brooklyn Museum's Tierra Blanca Joven exhibition by artist Guadalupe Maravilla. Educators were invited to use varying resources and tools to brainstorm, ideate and envision a future and school that truly reflected a wellbeing oasis. If you missed any of our past sessions or want to revisit past materials, remember to check out the Cool Culture Community Resource Folder and visit our padlet board to see participant’s thoughts and reflections on previous sessions.
L -R: Educator and panelist, Jessica Sain from P.S 705 Brooklyn Arts & Science Elementary School and another educator exchange thoughts with each other. Educators gathered together to view the disease thrower from Tierra Blanca Joven exhibit. Panelists in our final dialogue included Adjoa Jones de Almeida, Deputy Director of Learning and Social Impact at Brooklyn Museum, Sabine Blazin, Director of Programs for the Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute; and Jessica Sain, NYC educator & Cool Culture parent
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Educators' Corner ENROLLMENT OPENS FOR 2022 - 2023 CITYWIDE ACCESS PROGRAM
Cool Culture is committed to partnering with families and educators to create spaces of art and culture, healing, connection, and activism for BIPOC families, and we cannot continue this work without the support of our educators! If you would like to continue helping us to provide access to the arts for BIPOC families citywide, we invite you to register for our Citywide Access Program for the upcoming 2022 - 2023 school year using this link for Public Schools and Early Childhood Centers. Enrolling with us for the upcoming school year means you will continue to have access to: Family Pass for Museum Admissions Curators for Educators: Seminars & Dialogues Curators for Families Bring The Cool Family Festivals Cool Culture Resources If you have any further questions about the enrollment process, please contact our program manager Tra Nguyen at family@coolculture.org for more information. If you are a caregiver, please do not fill out this form. Please wait for your school or center to contact you regarding registration for a Family Pass.
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