NBMAA to Open Interactive Gallery at First Friday

The New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA) will open a new interactive gallery space at the February edition of its popular First Friday event.

The Museum says that it, “pleased to unveil its newest addition — Create Space — the first interactive gallery space open to the public.”

“Located in the second-floor McKernan Gallery,” the Museum says, “Create Space will offer an artistic environment, with pop-up style activities and daily events for visitors to discover.”

The First Friday event will be tonight, Friday, February 7, 2020, from 5:30pm to 8:00pm at the Museum.

Create Space will debut during First Friday and will be open until February 23rd.

The Museum says that, in Create Space,

Guests will have the opportunity to leave their mark on the Museum by painting on miniature canvases, which can then be added to a collaborative mural. Create Space will also bring together the voices of the community with a dedicated response wall; inspired by the NBMAA’s ongoing 2020/20 Women @ NBMAA initiative, guests will be encouraged to write on and leave behind sticky notes sharing their stories about the important female role models in their lives. Create Space will also be equipped with a reading section, where guests can enjoy a selection of books covering prolific women artists.

Create Space, the Museum says, is also to have various, “drop-in activities,” including, “button-making inspired by women’s suffrage pins, bracelet creation,” and, “edible art for Valentine’s Day, President’s Day themed crafts at the Museum’s free Family Day, and live musical performances every Thursday evening.”

Tonight’s First Friday event is to feature the band, Eight to the Bar, which, the Museum says,

will get you on the dance floor as they perform their colorful mix of forties jazz and swing, fifties jump blues, and their own swing and blues infused originals. Known for their powerful female vocals and strong performances, Eight to the Bar packs a visual wallop that has earned them local and national attention as well as the 2014 Best Live Band award by Hartford Magazine.

Tickets for First Friday are $7 for members and $12 for non-members. The event has a cash bar, with, “$4 well drinks, $6 calls, and $8 top shelf.” The Museum has an event registration website where tickets can be purchased.

The NBMAA says that it

is the first institution dedicated solely to acquiring American art. Spanning four centuries of American history, the Museum’s permanent collection is renowned for its strengths in colonial portraiture, the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, the Ash Can School, as well as the important mural series The Arts of Life in America by Thomas Hart Benton. The singular focus on American art and its panoramic view of American artistic achievement, realized through the Museum’s extensive permanent collection, exhibitions, and educational programming, make the New Britain Museum of American Art a significant resource for a broad and diverse public.

The New Britain Museum of American Art is located at 56 Lexington Street, adjoining New Britain’s historic Walnut Hill Park.