Columbus Museum of Art to host monthly interactive studio, looks to increase community interest

Nicole Giannetta
Tue, 04 Oct 2022 00:53:13 +0000
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The Columbus Museum of Art is set to host its monthly interactive “Studio at Night” Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. Credit: Steven Litt

The Columbus Museum of Art wants those in the area to run wild with its interactive “Studio at Night,” an open studio experience Thursdays from 6-9 p.m.

Returning after a break during the COVID-19 pandemic, “Studio at Night” is an event in which participants can take advantage of the studio’s art supplies while engaging in a specially curated theme, according to the CMA website. The recurring program takes place on the first Thursday of each month, with the cost of entry included in the $5 museum admission fee.

Megan Green, manager of studio initiatives at the museum, said the program guarantees the creative and individualistic freedom of each participant. Guests can create paintings, drawings, sculptures and more, using supplies provided by the museum — including acrylic paint, popsicle sticks, tissue paper and milk crates.

“We provide the theme and the prompt, and you can run as wild with it as you want,” Green said.

Following the pandemic, the museum aimed to communicate the reopening of public studio access after the hiatus, Green said. The CMA was inspired by “Open Studio,” its long-standing event following the same premise but held on Saturdays, to create “Studio at Night.”

“This is also a reminder to the general public that the studio exists, that we’re there, and again, we used to run a lot more programs before COVID,” Green said. “While I know we are nowhere near, you know, the end of the pandemic, it’s just a nice reminder for us to let the general public know it is a space you can utilize.”

This month, the theme is “Craftula” -— a play on the vampire Count Dracula — for Halloween, according to the CMA Instagram.

Green said she anticipates the event will slowly grow in popularity over time, but she primarily hopes to initiate interest and interaction with the studio.

Panagiota Kourniotis, studio fellow at the museum, said the importance of rebuilding the Columbus community after the pandemic made it nearly impossible to garner people’s interest.

“I’m hoping that people will see us as a member of their community and want to dabble in it,” Kourniotis said.

Kourniotis said “Studio at Night” began in September and will run through March 2023, with the intention of reinstituting it again in the winter months. Although the experience is heavily geared towards participants who are 21 and older, younger people are still able to attend.

“Our ideology is to try to get everyone to think like an artist and that everyone can make something creative,” Kourniotis said.

Both Green and Kourniotis highlighted the variety of open studio events offered by CMA and encouraged students and members of the Columbus community to take full advantage of them.

“It’s always better when the public is using it, and we’re just trying to make sure that people have access to it,” Green said. “We have the capacity for 30 to 40 people to come in and use the space.”