The World's a Pink Explosion: Trans Family Exhibit Ready to Bloom

Thanks to the folks at the Incluseum for featuring this project on their blog! 

Rendering of the traveling version of the Trans Family Photo exhibit.

The Trans Family Photo Gallery, inspired by another project of mine, American Family, is a photography exhibit designed especially for children. The pictures in the gallery offer a window into the lives of transgender woman Erica Tobias and her children and grandchildren. 

My favorite part about working on this exhibit so far has been collaborating with accomplished photographer and RISD professor, Matthew Clowney. He's been such a joy to work with and I'm feeling very privileged to play a part in his creative process. Usually I come in at the later part of the exhibit development process- the artwork is made and it's my job to display it- but in this case, I've had the chance to work closely not only with Matthew but also with the family in the pictures. I feel like I've known Erica for years. From the interviews I conducted with family members, it's clear this is just who Erica is, a generous soul who welcomes everyone in with open arms, but I still feel special. We couldn't have picked a nicer family to work with.

Matthew making pictures of the Tobias family playing at the Boston Children's Museum.

This exhibit is also my first foray into the world of crowdfunding and it's been a huge learning experience for me. I can think of a million things I'd do differently for my next attempt, but right now I'm feeling so much gratitude for all the support, both moral and financial, we've received for our exhibit. I'm not a natural marketer so this campaign business is all new. It's always little scary going out of my comfort zone, but any time I'm scared I know I must be on to something.

The song playing in the background of the video is Pink Explosion, an original song written and performed by Matthew's partner, the talented Tracie Potochnik. Tracie had seen all the pictures Matthew had made of Erica and her family and listened to interviews I'd recorded with them. Inspired by Erica's love of the color pink and the springtime flowers in bloom, Tracie's refrain captures Erica's story beautifully: "The world's a pink explosion and I guess I'm bloomin' too." My favorite lines in song are in the last verse:

My heart it feels so happy and I guess it's just because

I'm finally who I'm meant to be and who I always was.

Here I am enjoying some downtime with Erica at her home with her daughters and granddaughter.

I'm excited about making this exhibit because I think all children (and adults for that matter) need what Laverne Cox calls "Possibility Models". We need to see people of color, women, and queer people represented in museums so children of all colors, all genders, and all sexualities can see the possibilities for themselves, not just as hypotheticals but as real, breathing options. 

Children gain an understanding of gender very early on in life. Many trans* and genderqueer individuals will report knowing they were different from their cisgender peers when they were toddlers. It's inevitable that some of the children who come to see this exhibit will recognize themselves. And for those who don't recognize themselves, I hope they'll see the importance of being a supportive family member and ally.

Guest post on Boston Children's Museum's 'Power of Play' blog

You’ve likely seen it for yourself that there’s something very compelling for children about re-envisioning everyday objects, assembling ensembles, or pretending to be somebody else. But did you know it’s also good for their brains? According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), playing with costumes can build imagination, help children discover new things about themselves, and can be a powerful tool for self-expression. But I wasn’t about to take NAEYC’s word for it, so I took my questions to an expert: 8-year-old costume-enthusiast Nate Hill.

Nate in one of his favorite costumes.

My first contribution to the Boston Children's Museum blog is all about costumes. Inspired by Halloween, I sat down with two of my esteemed colleagues with experience not only teaching with costumes, but wearing them too: Arts Program Manager and performance artist Alice Vogler and Culture and Performing Arts Educator and ballet dancer Steve Schroth. I also interviewed 8-year-old Nate Hill, son of Marla Quiñones, Director of Exhibit Design and Production. I was so taken with Nate's thoughtful, well-articulated responses that he quickly became the star of the article.

Read the rest of the article on the Power of Play blog here.

Guest post on the Western Museum Association blog

Nick Cave's "Freeport" at Peabody Essex Museum exemplifies an art exhibit with multigenerational appeal. Photo courtesy of Lauren Pazzaneze of Junkyard Arts.

 I love writing guest posts for other blogs so naturally I was thrilled when the Western Museum Association asked me to contribute. I saw it as the perfect opportunity to sit down with some of my colleagues at Boston Children's Museum and pick their brains.

I interviewed Director of Exhibitions Kate Marciniec and Arts Program Manager Alice Vogler and they shared with me their expertise and advice about how the museum field can look to children's museums to learn how to create exhibitions that successfully engage children and their families. The piece is called Bring the Family: Children's Museum Wisdom for the Rest of the Museum Community.

Here's how it starts:

So your museum wants to welcome families with children. You already know that welcoming families better serves the community and it also increases visitorship as the youngest visitors today are the members and donors of tomorrow.

But where to begin? A great way to start is by consulting the experts. And when it comes to designing multigenerational social learning experiences, children’s museums are certainly the experts. 

Note, I said, “multigenerational social learning experiences” and not “exhibits for children.” Because that’s the best-kept secret of the children’s museum—we actually design for grownups too. Kids don’t visit museums on their own—their adult caregivers are the ones deciding whether to stay and explore, or even to visit at all. Keeping adults entertained and engaged is key to creating great experiences for our young visitors.

Head on over to the Western Museum Association blog for the rest of the article.