Museum of Art’s Teen Board to host Valentine’s night out

ALBANY — Parents who want to have a Valentine’s Day dinner and perhaps catch a movie can let their kids enjoy art, games, activities, pizza, and a top-your-own-waffle bar at the Albany Museum of Art on Feb 14.

The AMA Teen Art Board is hosting the Valentine’s Parents Night Out art adventure for kids ages 4-12 from 5:30-8 p.m. on Valentine’s Day. And while parents may want to dress up for their special evening out, the kids are welcome to attend in their PJs if they want.

“We originally scheduled this for the Saturday before Christmas, but we had to cancel because most of the children who were registered couldn’t make it because of a bug that was going around,” AMA Director of Education and Public Programming Annie Vanoteghem said. “But kids really have a lot of fun at these ‘Holiday in My PJs’ parties, so we thought we would reschedule for an evening when parents would like to get out of the house together but might have trouble finding someone to stay with the kids.”

The party is also an opportunity to invest in the community. The event is a fundraiser for the Teen Art Board’s upcoming mural project in downtown Albany. On Jan. 20 at a free workshop at the AMA, elementary school students from Dougherty County and the surrounding area created artworks that have been forwarded to artist Ramiro Davaro-Comas for possible inclusion in the mural design.

“The cost to attend is only $25, or $20 if you’re an AMA donor,” Vanoteghem said. “That’s a bargain. Plus, you will know that your child will be in a safe environment where they will be able to enjoy art, games and activities. We will have pizza for the kids, and the top-your-own waffle bar that the kids love. Our Teen Art Board members are volunteering their time for this, so every dollar raised will go toward funding the mural project.”

Davaro-Comas, a New Yorker whose exhibition “Familias” closed at the AMA earlier this month, is collaborating with the Teen Art Board on the mural project through his nonprofit organization Super-Stories. He and his wife, Grace Lang, established Super-Stories as a way to conduct hands-on workshops, public art programs, and artist support projects that help communities tell their stories. They have created murals in communities including Kingston, N.Y.; Schenectady, N.Y., Leeds, Mass.; Rutland, Vt.; Albany, N.Y.; Homer City, Pa., and Springfield, Mass.

The AMA Teen Art Board, which Vanoteghem advises, is a leadership program for high school students in Dougherty County and surrounding communities. Each school year, teens accepted to the program raise funds for a project that benefits the community. This year, the students chose to create a downtown mural that they hope will beautify and help destigmatize the downtown Albany area where the AMA will relocate in the future.

“These are teens learning how to become tomorrow’s leaders,” Albany Museum of Art Director Andrew J. Wulf said. “They have a vested interest in seeing Albany and southwest Georgia move forward and thrive. It’s an effort we all should cheer and support.”

The registration link for the Valentine’s Parents Night Out may be found at www.albanymuseum.com/event/valentines-parents-night-out/.

For information about the project and Teen Art Board, contact Vanoteghem at [email protected].

Special Photo: Albany Museum of Art/Annie Vanoteghem