Canton Museum of ArtPartner Story
Community artwork was created as part of The Artchemist Project, an interdisciplinary mix of art and chemistry. Photo Credit: Canton Museum of Art.
Interdisciplinary Studies
The Pop! exhibition at the highlighted important artworks, including Nurse Elsa by Richard Prince and One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank by Jeff Koons, both on loan from Art Bridges, a unique, up-close experience.
The accompanying Artchemist Project expanded the diversity of exhibition themes by engaging multi-disciplinary educational programming combining both the sciences and art. It allowed the opportunity to explore conceptual ideas presented through the loaned artworks.
Community Chemistry
Over 1,000 individuals participated in the Artchemist Project, a community art project in conjunction with the Pop! exhibit. This community project used chemistry-driven techniques to create abstract artwork. Artists installed individual pieces together to build a collaborative display on the Museum's walls. New audiences, including low-income families, students from economically disadvantaged schools, and science educators working in public schools in traditionally underserved areas were encouraged to visit the Museum.
Curricula developed for the Artchemist Project encouraged artists to consider the exhibitions on display as part of their hypotheses. Photo Credit: Canton Museum of Art.
The Artchemist Project displayed all of the community artwork developed through the kits provided. Photo Credit: Canton Museum of Art.
School's Out
One thousand individual art kits were distributed directly to Canton City School District public schools, the downtown Canton location of the Stark County District Library, and made available for pick-up at the Museum. Along with in-person artwork creation, visitors participated in virtual components of the program, including a virtual “School’s Out Free Mondays Family Day” on Presidents’ Day.
Students, families, and individuals of all ages experienced these important artworks, the Pop! exhibition, and the Artchemist Project, which explored an intersection of art and science. The community came together and experimented, hypothesized, and collaboratively created, turning everyday materials into art via chemical processes.
One thousand art kits were distributed to local schools and libraries to engage the community in the Artchemist Project. Photo Credit: Canton Museum of Art.
The Artchemist Project allowed artists of all ages to make community art that was featured in the museum. Photo Credit: Canton Museum of Art.
Why We Love This Project
This collaborative community art project celebrates how art spans multidisciplinary boundaries and brings people together. The community project created a vibrant, abstract display comprised of the individual pieces installed together – a visual metaphor for the community engagement that embodies the project.