Kneeling Bench

The next time you are in the Museum, check out the kneeling bench, now on display in the 14th-15th century gallery. Part of ongoing experiments with seating, this kneeling bench offers a way to experience the spiritual dimension of art in this gallery. The kneeling bench was loaned to the museum by the United Congregational Church, UCC. It dates from the early twentieth century and was used by couples kneeling for a blessing at the end of their wedding ceremony. The kneeler is similar to a traditional prie dieu, which is used for personal prayer and devotions. We invite you to try the kneeler yourself to experience how viewers/worshipers in centuries past may have experienced this powerful art.

Browse European Art in our Collection Highlights

- Marcia Lagerwey, Curator of Education

NEW! Kids + Families Web Page

You are never too young or too old to discover the joy of art! Visit our new Kids + Families Web Page to discover everything the Museum has to offer you. WAM provides a safe and comfortable environment to explore art as a family on your own or by participating in one of our many family activities—from art carts to arms and armor demonstrations. You can find out what’s happening Today at WAM, meet our mascot Helmutt, come to a Family Day, or peruse tips on how to look at art together in our galleries. Come with your kids and grandkids, nieces and nephews, and let them fall in love with art when they’re young, enriching their lives forever. Families of all kinds can join and enjoy FREE admission every day.

Check out the NEW Kids + Families Web Page—discover what WAM has in store for you and your family today and EVERY day!

- Marcia Lagerwey, Curator of Education

Seeking Submissions: Community Cats Exhibition

Have you heard? This summer, the Worcester Art Museum will be invaded by CATS! Throughout a number of galleries and spaces in the Museum, from May 21 - September 4, this cat-mania will include an exhibition exploring the feline as an iconic element of art, a self-guided "cat walk" through the Museum, an interactive installation featuring live cats, a kitty take-over of Helmutt's House, a dog show curated by Helmutt, and special art classes.

A key component of Meow will also be a community art show entitled Community Cats. This project is held in collaboration with the Worcester Animal Rescue League (WARL). Artists, collectors, and cat-enthusiasts are encouraged to submit a work of art they have created or collected to Community Cats. This exhibition will display the broad artistic interpretations of this beloved theme. Whether the work of art was created in memory of a longtime pet, is an interpretive study, or is the centerpiece of your own private art collection, the Worcester Art Museum hopes to showcase the cat artworks held within the Worcester community.

The entry fee is a $10 suggested donation, which will be split equally to support two non-profits: the Education Programs of the Worcester Art Museum, and the care of animals at the Worcester Animal Rescue League (WARL).

 Want to learn more? Please review and fill out our Intent to Submit and Liability Form.

 #wamcats #meow

Learn more about Meow

- Katrina Stacy, Associate Curator of Education

Image: Jessica Walsh, Olivia, 2009. Entry for "Community Cats" exhibition.

Happy Year of the Monkey!

Happy Year of the Monkey! To help contribute to the wealth of monkey images online for this Lunar New Year here is the museum’s 10th-13th century Chinese sculpture, Guanyin Seated in a Grotto, depicting the Monkey King story. The Monkey King is a mischievous and highly popular character in China ever since the publication of the classic novel Journey to the West in the 1590s in which he plays the protagonist.

Based on a real pilgrimage in the early 600s by a Chinese Buddhist monk named Xuanzang, who travelled to India to find and bring back Buddhist scriptures, in Journey to the West the Monkey King accompanies Xuanzang on his quest. The top portion of this sculpture depicts the Monkey King with the monk and a horse. Below them the Buddhist deity of compassion, Guanyin, sits atop her lotus throne encircled by a dragon. Guanyin served as their guardian on the trip, often offering divine intervention.

This sculpture, one of the earliest depictions of the tale of the Monkey King made centuries before it became a popular novel, has also recently inspired new research. After viewing WAM’s Guanyin Seated in a Grotto, Dr. Ji Hao, a professor of Chinese language and literature at the College of the Holy Cross, began studying other artistic representations of the Monkey King story. We look forward to learning more about this rich piece from his findings.

Welcome in the Year of the Monkey by looking for this Monkey King-inspired piece currently on view during your next visit to WAM.

Above: Guanyin Seated in a Grotto, late Song Dynasty (960-1279), granite, greenish color, 59.7 cm (23 1/2 in.), Gift of Stephan Bourgeois, 1933.9

See more Chinese Art

- Vivian Li, Assistant Curator, Asian Art

Calling all Emily the Strange Fans!

Rob Reger

To help kickoff WAM's Meow exhibition we are excited to announce that Friday, February 19 will be Emily the Strange Day at the Museum. The exhibit Rob Reger's Emily the Strange and her Four Bad Kitties is the first of many cat-inspired exhibits that are all part of the Meow project. While the full exhibition opens on Friday, May 20, Emily and her four kitties (Mystery, Miles, NeeChee, and Sabbath) will be taking over Helmutt's House starting February 10th.

On Emily the Strange Day on Friday, February 19, please join us for special Emily the Strange themed art activities, story time, and more. Free admission to the Museum will be granted for any visitors who come dressed as Emily… or her cats.

Click here to learn more about Meow

Click here to learn more about the artist Rob Reger and his character Emily the Strange in his interview with WAM's Director of Audience Engagement Adam Rozan.

- KATrina Stacy, Associate Curator of Education

Calling all Homeschool Families & Groups!

Join us for our new Homeschool Wednesdays at WAM. Make the Museum part of your homeschool studies with this quarterly program designed to complement home-based learning for ages 5 and up. Through a combination of tours and Gallery/Studio workshops, we offer a variety of educational and interactive—and fun!—options depending on your interests and curriculum.

Participants will discover the Ancient World, explore the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, learn more about Early American History, or become familiar with WAM through a Museum Highlights Package. The Gallery/Studio workshops feature painting, clay pottery, portraits, illuminated letters, and aluminum tooling.

Our upcoming Homeschool Wednesdays are scheduled for March 23 and May 11. To schedule your visit, contact Jan Ewick at 508-793-4338 or janewick@worcesterart.org or Jesse Rives at 508-793-4335 or jesserives@worcesterart.org. Please reserve your spot at least three weeks in advance.

Click here to learn more about the Homeschool Wednesdays tours, Gallery/Studio Workshops, the Museum Highlights Package, and associated costs for these field trips.

We hope to see you and your homeschool group at the Museum for Homeschool Wednesdays!

- Jesse Rives, Education Coordinator

Museum Selfie Day

What’s so great about the museum selfie?

Everything! While the question may be rhetorical, the answer is certainly not. What I love about museum selfies is that these photographs celebrate one’s museum visit and champion the idea of play and discovery across our institution. The act of taking selfies encourages all visitors to become explorers inside our galleries and museum spaces, as they search out the artworks that appeal to them and inspire their best photographs. This creative investigation of our galleries breathes new life and imagination into the museum experience.

Visiting a museum is a chance to dream and reflect, to learn and explore our past and present, and to connect with family and friends. No two museums are alike and no two museum visits are the same. Some museum visitors come to talk and socialize, others come to sketch. Some visitors read all the labels, while others swear by the audio tours. There is no one right or wrong way to visit a museum. Taking photographs inside galleries appeals to many visitors, but it’s not for everyone. And that’s OK, too.

Please join us in celebrating the experience of the museum selfie, and visit on Wednesday, January 20 to celebrate Museum Selfie Day. Share your pictures, and remember to include #MuseumSelfie and @worcesterart with your photos.

To help you with this experience, we’ve prepared some tips for smart and helpful strategies for taking photographs inside the museum. Check out those tips here.

- Adam Rozan, Director of Audience Engagement

p.s. Special thanks to the Royal Ontario Museum for help in creating our selfie guidelines, and to Mar Dixon for championing Museum Selfie Day.