Family Festival

Celebrate the power of creativity in this fun-filled day of activities and art for the entire family. Enjoy art making, community connections, and gallery activities—and have the chance to meet and make alongside local artists!


SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

11:00 AM

The Human Alphabet with Pilobolus
11:00 a.m.-noon, Ross Avenue Plaza
In a playful, productive, and fast-paced workshop designed for families and people of all ages and abilities, we will be creating alphabet letters with the human body! The workshop begins with a Pilobolus warm-up and exploration of principles of collaborative creativity and partnering basics. Then teaching artists will guide participants to work together to create the human alphabet. This workshop will take place outdoors and is limited to the first 30 participants.

Story Time with Anoosha Syed 
11:00 a.m.–noon, Level 3 Landing 
Stop in for story time with author and illustrator Anoosha Syed. Hear her new book Love in Every Language, and discover the many ways we express love across languages. After the story, try your hand at illustrating and create your own drawings based on love.

Meet and Make with an Artist: Create Your Own Lines with Tina Ngo 
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., Level 4 Landing 
Have you ever colored with tape? Join tape artist Tina Ngo and use colorful tape to transform small wooden canvas pieces into one larger collaborative mosaic.

Toddler Play Room with Play Play Play!  
11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., C3 Theater, Level 1
Jump start your senses at one of our play stations just for children ages 4 and under. Play with soft toys, explore sensory bins, crawl through tunnels, and much more with play experts from Play Play Play!

Welcome Table and Raffle
11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Main Entrance
Pick up a schedule of events, get help with wayfinding, and then tell us what you enjoyed about the festival. Complete a short survey and be entered to win a DMA prize pack! 

Meet and Make with an Artist: The Living Steamroller with Barú 
11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Outside the Main Entrance 
Work alongside Barú and help turn the whole community into a printing press! Cut and ink shapes on large boards, and then use your body to stomp, march, and roll to reveal a monumental community print. 

Open Studio: Floral-Themed Bookmarks
11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Art Studio 1 
Drop by to create a floral-themed bookmark using pressed plants and flowers and a variety of collage materials. Activity available while supplies last.


11:30 AM

Meet and Make with an Artist: CMYK Printmaking with Matt Bagley 
11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Art Studio 2 
Get hands-on with color and printmaking as you create a one-of-a-kind print to take home! Using a mix of relief blocks, participants will layer colors by hand to discover how overlapping colors create new images. 


NOON

Meet and Make with an Artist: Mini Junk Journals with Fernando Matehuala 
Noon–2:00 p.m., Concourse, Level 1 
Personalize your own mini junk journal with local artist Fernando Matehuala! Bring your journal to life using decorative paper and fill it with memories of your visit.

Meet and Make with an Artist: Poetry and Art with Aryele Maye 
Noon–2:00 p.m., Focus Gallery II, Level 1 
Use poetry to connect with an artwork! Read a poem as you explore Hale A. Woodruff’s Amistad Paintings, and then work alongside local artist Aryele Maye to translate mood, color, and energy onto paper. 

Sensory Haven Featuring Sally Ackerman 
Noon–3:00 p.m., Founders Room 
Looking for a place to take a break? Visit the Founders Room and enjoy peaceful activities to reset and recharge. From 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., join fiber artist Sally Ackerman and learn how to make your own ojo de Dios yarn art. All ages are welcome.

Art Making with Jesus Moroles Expressive Arts Vanguard 
Noon–4:00 p.m., Ross Avenue Plaza Entrance, Level 1 
Put your creativity to the test at this art-making station designed by the talented students of Jesus Moroles Expressive Arts Vanguard. Local student artists will be on-site to help participants create.


12:30 PM

Performance in the Atrium featuring K.B. Polk Center for Academically Talented and Gifted 
12:30 p.m., Hamon Atrium
Enjoy the musical styles of talented student performers from the Music Conservatory of K.B. Polk Center for Academically Talented and Gifted. 


1:00 PM

Meet and Make with an Artist: Little Impressionists with Carla Renteria 
1:00–3:00 p.m., Fleischner Courtyard, Level 1 
Join artist and educator Carla Renteria in her watercolor wonderland! Be inspired by all things nature as you take turns at the easel making art just like the Impressionists.

Printing Demonstration with Jessica Raff 
1:00–3:00 p.m., Ross Avenue Plaza, Level 1 
Join students from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and their teacher Jessica Raff for an exploration into printmaking! 

Pop-Up Art Spot
1:00–4:00 p.m., Level 2 
Looking for a hands-on experience in the DMA galleries? Visit the Pop-Up Art Spot and find unique ways to engage with nearby artworks. From sketching to sensory experiences to imaginative prompts, there’s always something new to discover. Come explore and get creative!


2:00 PM

Meet and Make with an Artist: Making Patterns with Dozie Oheri 
2:00–3:30 p.m., Museum Galleries
Explore the world of patterns alongside Dozie Oheri as you experiment with colored pencil shading and gradients to create your own geometric designs. Learn more about the Ankara textile tradition that inspires Oheri and how she weaves her Igbo heritage into her practice.


3:00 PM

Meet and Make with an Artist: From a Dot to a Character with Matthew J. Baek 
3:00–4:00 p.m., C3 Theater, Level 1
Join author and illustrator Matthew J. Baek as he reads his book Panda and Polar Bear. After the story, use drawing materials and follow along as Baek teaches us how to draw our own character. If you can draw a dot, you can draw anything!