New Winter/Spring 2009 ArtKids Tour | Saturday Schedule

January 10th: Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, 421 East 61st Street , Step back in time and visit this early 19th century house museum, one of only a handful of such historic houses in Manhattan. Kids will get a chance to be part of the past and meet some 19th century characters, dress up themselves and even handle copies of the objects they find at the hotel. A true time-machine experience!

January 31st: Alexander Calder's Circus, The Whitney Museum Madison Avenue at 75th Street , Take a closer look at the American artist, his circus, toys, and wire creations.

February 7th: Identity by Design The National Museum of the American Indian, The Alexander Hamilton US Custom House, One Bowling Green, With this tour ArtKids will discover what did Native Americans wear? What were the materials? What were the decorations? What did it all mean? Come hear the stories and the legends.

February 28th: Masterpieces from the National Academy of Art, Fifth Avenue by 89th Street, Join ArtKids on a tour of the treasures of the museum.

March 7th: Second Lives The Museum of Art and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, Come with ArtKids to explore how artists transform ordinary objects into extraordinary works of art.

April 4th: Pop, Splatter, Dot! The Metropolitan Museum of Art , Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, On this tour ArtKids will examine the Pop Art and Abstract Expressionist movements, which include artists such as Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock.

April 18th: Krazy! Japan Society Christie's Auction House, East 47th Street by First Avenue , Let's take a closer look at the Japanese animation traditions of Anime and Manga. Ages 8-12 years old.

May 2nd: Let's Meet the Kids at the Met!, The Metropolitan Museum of Art , Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, Come along with ArtKids as we tour the museum and rendezvous with the children in paintings and sculpture.

May 16th: Frank Lloyd Wright The Guggenheim, Madison Avenue at 89th Street, Help celebrate the museum's anniversary as ArtKids examine the works ofthis famous American architect who also designed the building.

Tours will take place from 3:30 to 5:00 pm

The fee is $50 per child (includes admission, tour and art project). Kids under 6 years old should be accompanied by an adult. Kids older than 6 will have an optional drop-off.

Please RSVP to ns@artmuseny.com to hold a spot. Each group will be limited to 10 children.

Museum of Arts and Design has reopened its doors at 2 Columbus Circle in a building called the lollipop building in the past and now re-designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, where 7 floors have been dedicated to galleries, open studios, theater, educational studios, a restaurant and a museum shop. The building now offers three times the space of the old museum and presents the MAD collection and temporary exhibitions in a clearly structured, modernist environment where even the walls, staircase spaces and windows become part of the overall presentation. The current exhibitions on view are Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary (Sept. 27-Feb. 15); Elegant Armor: the Art of Jewelry (Sept. 27-May 31st) and Permanently MAD: Revealing the Collection (Sept. 27-Feb. 15). The emphasis of all the exhibitions is on the scope and variety of materials, some precious but most very common that in the hands of artists are transformed into extraordinary works of art. It is truly inspiring to appreciate works by artists such as Tara Donovan who shows a stalagmite sculpture called Bluffs constructed out of clear buttons and Long-Bin Chens sculptures carved out of phonebooks and catalogues. Some works attract and excite visually while at the same time creating shock waves with the materials used. Such is the case with a chandelier piece called Trinity (Bubbles, Grandma, and Spike) (2007) by Andy Diaz Hope and Laurel Roth made entirely of hypodermic needles and Swarovski crystals.

Address: 2 Columbus Circle, NYC
Phone: 212.299.7777

Website: www.madmuseum.org