How families can turn the Carnegie International into a family scavenger hunt

The Carnegie International exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Art just opened this month — a renowned exhibit of contemporary art from around the world that happens only every four years. This time, the exhibit is showing art in four locations around Pittsburgh, so why not turn the Carnegie International into a family scavenger hunt to find art all around the city?

KDKA-TV's Kristine Sorensen talked with Dana Bishop-Root, director of education at the Carnegie Museum of Art, for ideas on where to start and how to get the conversation going.

Art can be inspiring, educational, beautiful, shocking, confusing, and so many more things, but if art is also intimidating, Bishop-Root suggests letting your kids be the guide.

"I think sometimes when we approach art, we think we need to know something to be able to experience it," Bishop-Root says, "but really, experiencing art with all ages of children is about recognizing that what they're seeing allows us to create the meaning together."

She suggests letting your kids lead you to the artwork they're interested in. Then, without stating your own observations first, ask simple questions to get the conversation started.

"The first place to start is, what do you see? What are you noticing?" she suggests.

Begin at the front entrance to the art museum, where artist Ginger Brooks Takahashi created a garden using the perilla plant, exploring how it's used in different traditions across Asia. Here, you can touch and smell the plants and begin to ask questions like: How does the ground feel under your feet? What kind of smells do you start to feel? What are the textures of the leaves?

Also in front of the museum, you'll see an old van that is painted with images, which is also part of the Carnegie International exhibit. Bishop-Root says the artist, Peter Jameson, drove the van around the Seneca Nation in 1975 to connect with other artists. Bishop-Root suggests asking kids questions like, "If you were to take a van full of your most special things to people you love, what would you take?" or "Where do you think this van is going?"

Then go inside and explore more of the Carnegie International artwork, which is spread throughout the museum.

Continue your scavenger hunt at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh on the North Side, where you'll find a colorful sculpture outside the front entrance. An artist from India designed it after talking with Pittsburgh families about where they find "home."

One young visitor, Violet Flowers, described it as, "So, it's really colorful, and all the shapes ... they have all the words on there, and I can read some of them."

Her mom, Jessica, said, "It just shows them different variations of what art can be and little pieces that they're starting to learn right now in school, and so it's great for them to see this all come together in this big project."

The hunt continues at the Mattress Factory museum, also on the North Side, where two Peruvian artists spent a month transforming an entire house into a work of art.

Bishop-Root says they "created an immersive installation that brings so much of their lived Andean culture into that place and allows us, through 11 different rooms, to have different experiences of their culture and their lived experiences and ways in which they are preserving and keeping their heritage and wanting to share it with others."

The last place you'll find the Carnegie International art is at the Kamin Science Center, where there's an animated artwork specially commissioned for the Buhl Planetarium. Sculptor Torkwase Dyson created an animated video related to research on the seabed floors. It shows on designated days and times at the science center.

All of these pieces are sure to spark conversation, imagination, and wonder, no matter what age you or your kids are.

"The minute that we enter with our families, with each other, with our friends, we are completing the artwork. We're bringing our own experience and meaning-making to that work," Bishop-Root says.

You can learn more about the Carnegie International and the programming surrounding the exhibit, including tours and art-making programs, at this link.