OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi Museum partners with the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council and local artist Andi Bedsworth to host Mini Masters, a toddler art program for the Lafayette-Oxford-University community.
These fun, drop-in workshops, for children ages 2 to 5 and a parent or guardian, are scheduled on alternating dates at the Powerhouse and the UM Museum. The program kicked off on Feb. 12 at the Powerhouse, and the museum’s first class is slated for Feb. 26.
Mini Masters classes are $5 per family for each drop-in session. Pre-registration is not required. The classes are set twice monthly on Tuesdays from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m.
“This new collaboration with the Powerhouse and Andi Bedsworth is a wonderful opportunity for us to make Mini Masters truly a community program that embraces the arts in Oxford beginning at an early age and allows parents and children to work together to create their own masterpieces,” said the museum’s Curator of Education Emily Dean.
For the Powerhouse opener, Bedsworth taught Valentine’s Day monoprinting. During this class, attendees explored various mediums to learn about colors and textures.
Bedsworth said her goal was to show parents easy and fun ways to create art with their children.
“I hope they will repeat the activities we do in class at home so their children can continue to have fun with art materials and techniques,” she said.
During the classes held at Ole Miss, Dean said the children and their parent or guardian will be creating art based on UM Museum artifacts and exhibitions. The museum’s first class will offer children and their parents the opportunity to create their own Theora Hamblett Plexi-Paintings.
The complete Mini Masters schedule is available at the Powerhouse located at 413 South 14th Street or the UM Museum located at University Avenue and Fifth Street. The schedule can also be downloaded here.
For more information about Mini Masters, contact either Emily Dean or Andi Bedsworth.