Events

An Alexandria tradition for more than two decades, Art Safari returns for a day of hands-on activities for kids and families. Dozens of artists lead budding arts enthusiasts in 12 hands-on projects from plein air painting to silkscreen printing. Get messy constructing a giant papier-mâché tiger or squishing clay between your fingers. The Art League and the Alexandria Archaeological Museum will offer even more engaging programming.

Children should wear clothing that can get a little dirty. Most activities are appropriate for kindergarten age, with parental supervision, through middle school.

List of Activities

• Potomac Riverfront – Plein Air Tiny Paintings – Led by the Torpedo Factory Artists Association
  Painters from the Torpedo Factory Art Center sit with visitors along the riverfront and create miniature paintings together while enjoying the fall weather.
• Union and Cameron Street Alley – Relief Printing – Led by the Mobile Art Lab
  Children can check out Alexandria’s one-of-a-kind art truck while making colorful prints.
• 1^st Floor Hallway – Giant Papier-Mâché Tiger – Led by Lisa Schumaier
  In only four hours, children use simple paper and paste to transform a wire frame into a new sculpture. Many of Schumaier’s previous Art Safari sculptures, such as the iconic camel, are on view in the first floor throughout the year.
• Studio 16 – Bottlecap Necklaces – Led by UpCycle Creative Reuse Center
  Bottlecaps are transformed into sparkling necklaces with the help of sequins and glitter glue.
• Studio 21 – Gallery scavenger hunt – Led by The Art League Gallery
  This year, The Art League’s scavenger hunt explores the exhibition Op-Ed. Each completed scavenger hunt can be shown at the gallery desk to receive a special prize.
• Studio 22 – Clay Experience – Led by Susan Greenleaf
  Children play and experiment with a piece of wet clay to mold and shape into any form they can imagine. Potters will demonstrate their technique for throwing clay on a pottery wheel.
• Studio 29 – Fiber collage – Led by Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery
  Artists help children create a dynamic image using bits of fabric and fiber.
• 2^nd Floor Hall – Easel stations – Led by Christine Cardellino
  With acrylic paint and paper, children paint anything they can imagine at the open easel stations located along the 2^nd floor.
• 2^nd Floor Catwalk – Community Weaving Project – Led by Hannah Elmer
  By weaving strips of fabric through the crisscrossed wires along the 2^nd floor railings, visitors create a beautiful design that will take form through the course of the afternoon.
• 3^rd Floor Hall – Coloring Tables – Led by the TFAA Community Outreach Committee
  Torpedo Factory artists created black and white line drawings for children to embellish with color.
• Studio 325 – Silk screen printing – Led by Patrick Sargent
  Children progress through four different color stations to create their own full-color silk-screen image.
• Studio 327 – Potter’s Art – Alexandria Archaeology Museum
  The Alexandria Archaeology Museum will have a selection of china and pottery from their collection on view. Children create their own sketches and learn to identify 19th-century Alexandria potters from the designs on stoneware pottery.