Your Tuesday Playdate At Walker Art Center

Parents and caregivers with youngsters ages 2-5 have a new way to find artistic inspiration with Arty Pants: Your Tuesday Playdate, an ongoing Walker Art Center program designed to nurture creativity and engage a child's mind. Arty Pants programs, presented monthly on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, feature art projects, films, gallery activities, and story readings.

Meet other families for a treat at Wolfgang Puck's Coffee Cart or lunch at Gallery 8 Café. The Arty Pants programs in March and April focus on experimental painting and color-presented from 11 am-1 pm Tuesdays, March 13 and 27, and April 10 and 24. Activities are free with gallery admission; Walker members and children ages 12 and under always receive free admission. Also offered in April are special studio classes for kids, Hip-Hop 101, on April 14, 10 am-12 noon, and April 21, 9 am-12 noon, where kids ages 5-11 will be introduced to turntablism, graffiti, rap, MC'ing, b-boying, funk, and hip-hop dance.

"A pair of socks is no less suitable to make a painting with than wood, nails, turpentine, oil, and fabric." -Artist Robert Rauschenberg

Playful painting is the focus of the March and April Arty Pants sessions when colorful creations come to life through story readings and the day's film. Participants will go on a gallery adventure to explore how contemporary artists expand our idea of what painting can be. Taking inspiration from artists like Shiraga Kazuo and Yves Klein, kids head to the art lab to use hands, feet, and non-traditional methods in an experimental painting activity. Dress for a mess. Smocks provided. -- www.walkerart.org