Zimmerli Spring and Summer Programming in Full Bloom

One of the nation’s premier university-based art museums, the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum is home to more than 60,000 works of art ranging from the classical to the contemporary.

Currently, the Zimmerli is gearing up for some exciting Spring and Summer programs that will cater to an audience of all ages, proving that this museum is not your typical temple to the arts

“We want to encourage people who don’t normally attend art museums or who don’t think that it’s something that would interest them to realize that there’s something for everybody here, regardless of their hobbies or their interests,” said Bonnie Wilson, Zimmerli’s Coordinator of Education and Community Programs.

Here are a few of the season's upcoming Zimmerli programs:

FAMILY OUTING

It’s been a long-held tradition of the Zimmerli to host a “family day”, and this year's "Rutgers Day" will once again bring families from across central New Jersey to Rutgers’ New Brunswick Campus and to the museum.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 28, the Zimmerli will greet visitors with an array of engaging activities, including caricature artists, face painters, scavenger hunts, storytellers, and special workshops.

“We really love having younger audiences and exposing even three and four-year-olds to paintings for the first time,” Wilson said. “And hopefully they’ll experience something that will make them come back for many, many years and encourage them to find a lifelong interest in the arts.”

All day activities include “Be an Art Detective”, where families can solve puzzles in the museum’s galleries, and “I Am Art”, face-painting available inside the museum and beneath the Zimmerli tent in the Voorhees Mall area.

Between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., visitors may also sit for a caricature artist. “It’s a really good thing to get for free,” Wilson said. “People pay a lot of money for that on the boardwalk.”

Gallery Discovery Tours will meet in the museum lobby approx. every half hour between noon and 2 p.m. Led by docent guides and open to all ages, the tours will provide a close look at the museum’s special exhibitions, featuring the exhibition "Rachel Perry Welty 24/7," as well as the permanent collections.

For the younger crowd, the Zimmerli will also captivate the kids with Preschool Adventures in Storytelling. These sessions, featuring storyteller Ellen Musikant, will each run for a half hour and will begin at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m.

Children ages 5 to 13 will also enjoy exploring their creativity with the Children’s Art Workshop. Each workshop will last a half hour, beginning at noon, 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m., and 1:30 p.m. Children will create art under the guidance of professional artists and art educators from the Expressive Arts 4-H program at Rutgers. Art stations and materials will be supplied.

Since the Zimmerli functions both as an academic and a public museum, Alfredo Franco, Zimmerli’s Curator of Education, said Rutgers Day is the perfect opportunity to assure locals that the museum is open to them as well.

“A lot of the population of New Brunswick might never have been in a museum or might have a sense of intimidation about coming to a museum,” Franco said. “These kinds of family events dispel that, we hope. That’s our goal.”

For Rutgers Day campus maps and other information, click here.

ART CAMP

Budding artists between ages 7 and 14 can try their hand at creating their own masterpieces at the Zimmerli Summer Art Camp, running from June 25 to July 27. The camp will offer a total of 30 different classes over the five week period, and students can enroll in morning sessions from 9 a.m. to noon, afternoon sessions from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., or both.

Courses range from an introductory course, which covers traditional techniques – the “meat and potatoes” as Franco refers to them – such as the basics of drawing, painting, sculpture, and watercolor, to more experimental courses.

Students will be able to design, sew, and decorate puppets one week, and the next learn the cartooning style of Japanese Anime or Manga. Popular courses, such as Comic Book Creations, will be offered in multiple sessions, Franco said.

Class sizes are small, usually between 12 and 15 students, so each pupil receives individualized attention from teachers. All teachers hold a Master of Fine Arts, and student aides, who themselves have gone through the program in the past, are on hand in each classroom.

In addition, every course, regardless of the topic, includes tours through the art galleries. “It’s the perfect way to discover art and also have a fun activity and not feel intimidated in any way,” Franco said.

According to Franco and Wilson, the camp has a tradition of seeing students return year after year. “We’ve had some of the kids start when they’re seven, and they keep coming until they’re 14, and then they become volunteers for it,” Wilson said. “And some actually become employees,” Franco added.

Franco said the camp is a popular program at the Zimmerli, with registration filling up quickly. He believes this is because the museum offers a great alternative to a traditional summer camp.

“This is a unique type of camp because you are right inside a museum, and you learn about the universe of art and the universe of a museum. And you leave the museum, we hope, learning some kind of artistic skill,” he said.

For more registration information, click here.

TOURS

Families or individuals looking for a Sunday afternoon jaunt can take advantage of the museum’s free admission, tour, and activities on the first Sunday of every month. Appropriate for all ages, the day includes scavenger hunts between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., as well as tours at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

In addition, the Zimmerli offers free tours with admission every Sunday at 2  p.m. Lead by docent guides, expert educators in all things art, visitors will receive an introductory tour of the Zimmerli’s collections. Collections include 19th century French art, nonconformist art from the Soviet Union, ancient art, and 20th century American art.

For more in-depth or specific tours, the Zimmerli also offers guided tours for groups of all ages.

 “We try to work with them [tour groups] to create an individualized experience based on their interests and their audience and who they’re bringing,” Wilson said.

Most commonly, subject-specific school groups request tours that cater to their coursework. For example, the Zimmerli would provide a French language class a tour of the museum’s extensive French collection, and the tour would be led by a French-speaking docent.

With the myriad of opportunities the Zimmerli offers, Franco encourages locals to take advantage of the museum’s upcoming programming.

“It’s good to know that in your own backyard is one of the largest university art museums,” Franco said. “That’s an important thing to have right here in our community. We have things that no other museum has and it’s just wonderful to explore that.”

Guided tours cost $4 per adult in addition to museum admission, and $1 per student with free admission.

To schedule a tour, or for more information, including exhibit information and hours of operation, call the museum at (732) 932-7237 or visit www.zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu.