Families

Families
What We Do
Past Events

Whitney Family Programs offer interactive tours, art making workshops, and special events that encourage kids and adults to learn about art together.

From the Blog:
JEFF KOONS FAMILY DAY

Jeff Koons Family Day, September 2014. Photograph by Filip Wolak

On September 27, Family Programs welcomed more than 1,000 participants to a special Jeff Koons Family Day.

Watch: Tom Otterness

Life Underground

Artist Tom Otterness talks about Life Underground (2001), his sculpture installation at the Fourteenth Street and Eighth Avenue subway station, commissioned by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. This station and artwork will serve as the transportation hub to the Whitney Museum’s new building, which will open in the Meatpacking District in 2015.

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Watch: An Animation Made by Families at the Whitney

On April 12, 2014, Biennial artist Joshua Mosley, in conjunction with the Whitney’s Education Department, led a workshop for families designed to introduce stop motion animation techniques. This video is a montage of the animations produced by the families during the workshop.

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What We Do

Artist’s Choice Workshops

Ages 8–12 Years

Lorna Simpson hands families examples of the bronze frames used in her work in the exhibtion Blues for Smoke, Artist’s Choice, April 2012. Photograph by Filip Wolak

This series of art workshops brings contemporary artists and families together to share their ideas and opinions and create artwork inspired by conversations and activities in the galleries.

See who we’ve worked with in Artist’s Choice

Sketching Tours

Ages 6-10 Years

Parents and kids make prints inspired by Wade Guyton OS, 2012. Photograph by Jamie Rosenfeld

Families explore current exhibitions through drawing, looking closely at works of art and creating experimental sketches inspired by the artists process.

Whitney Wees

Ages 4-5 Years

Families learn about Edward Hopper’s Early Sunday Morning (1930), 2013. Photograph by Filip Wolak

Families enjoy an interactive experience of looking, sharing, and working together in the galleries.

Stroller Tours

Ages 0-18 Months

A Stroller Tour of Wade Guyton OS, 2012. Photograph by Jamie Rosenfeld

Whitney Teaching Fellows, PhD candidates in art history, lead engaging tours of current exhibitions for new moms and dads when the Museum is closed to the public. Crying babies are welcome!

Family Access Programs

For kids on the
autism spectrum
ages 6–12 Years

Families make sculptures inspired by the work of Alexander Calder, October 2013. Photograph by Filip Wolak

The Whitney invites families with kids on the autism spectrum for a sensory-friendly guided gallery tour before the Museum opens to the public. Families create their own works of art in a hands-on studio activity.

Events for Families with Kids of All Ages

Openings and Events
Family openings and events feature art making activities and other fun ways to celebrate and learn about current exhibitions.

Try This! Gallery Experiments
These pop-up stations in the galleries engage families with works on view through discussion based activities, sketching, and explorations of different materials.

Open Studio
In these hands-on studio activities, families get creative, experiment with materials, and make their own artworks based on current exhibitions.