Children’s Engagement with Contemporary Art in the Museum Context

Abstract

This chapter provides examples of educational activities for young children at the Maribor Art Gallery in Slovenia (UGM|Umetnostna galerija Maribor). Through these museum experiences, children learn about themselves and their world as they examine and explore works by contemporary Slovenian and international artists. Discussion of the activities enacted in this authentic context of the museum demonstrates how museum educators can design multimodal opportunities for children to make meaning of the different types of artistic expression including painting, as well as performance and multimedia installations in which various contemporary media combine and diverse disciplines merge. Further, the chapter reveals how interactions among children, artworks, artists, museum space, and the museum educator, sometimes including children’s families, can support children’s gradual discovery of the art exhibition and themselves through play and direct engagement with contemporary art in its authentic museum space.