PRESS
RELEASE

PRESS CONTACT:
Meridith McNeal / 718-875-4047 ext. 13 / rotunda@brooklynx.org

ROTUNDA GALLERY'S ANNUAL
KIDSART EXHIBITION
OPENS ON THURSDAY, JUNE 6 ON QUIRKY PUBLIC SCHOOL HOLIDAY

"Brooklyn/Queens Day," Thursday, June 6, Becomes KIDSDAY in Brooklyn Heights -- a Day for Art-Making, Learning and Fun

KIDSART, the Rotunda Gallery's annual exhibition showcasing the work of the hundreds of children involved in the Gallery's education program, opens on KIDSDAY, Thursday, June 6 -- also known as "Brooklyn/Queens Day" -- and runs through Saturday, June 22. Sponsored by Con Edison and Verizon, the Rotunda Gallery exhibition will open with an artists' reception -- in this case cookies and juice courtesy Morgan Stanley -- from 4 - 4:45 PM on the 6th. The Rotunda Gallery is located at 33 Clinton Street (between Pierrepont Street and Cadman Plaza West) in Brooklyn Heights. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Friday, Noon - 5 PM; Saturday, 11 AM - 4 PM. Information: 718-875-4047x10.

KIDSART (Meridith McNeal, curator) fills the Gallery with the exuberance and vivid colors of children's imaginations. More than 200 drawings, paintings, sculptures, collages, artists’ books, express young artists' reactions to the Gallery's '01 - '02 exhibitions, among them Animas! (on the spirit that animates art), What Happened in Lime Mills (exploring a fictional town), and Try This (featuring art that invites the viewers’ participation).

Hundreds of children will enjoy KIDSART on Thursday, June 6 as they join in KIDSDAY (aka "Brooklyn/Queens Day"), free creative activities planned by the Rotunda Gallery; the Brooklyn Heights Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library; the Brooklyn Historical Society; and the New York Transit Museum. Art-making, clowning, games, movies and author readings will occupy children at these Brooklyn Heights institutions, all within walking distance of each other. A variety of workshops begins at 11 AM and continues throughout the day.

"The children's artwork is really fantastic," says Toni Yuille of Con Edison, a major sponsor of KIDSDAY and KIDSART at the Rotunda Gallery. "We are so pleased to participate in this celebration of the students' accomplishments. The Rotunda Gallery is an important part of Brooklyn's cultural landscape and when you see this exhibition can really get a taste of how special its Education Program is."

The Rotunda Gallery, a not-for-profit contemporary art space showcasing the work of Brooklyn artists, has an important educational mission. Established in 1984, its Education Program annually reaches 6,000 children -- pre-kindergarten through high school -- by introducing them to a broad range of contemporary art, September through May. Classes attend the Gallery's School Visit program each day an exhibition is on view. The artists' work inspires discussion and hands-on art projects based on the artwork in the exhibition. The Rotunda's Mini-Museum outreach program integrates art instruction with school curricula through a series of gallery visits and classroom lessons, and culminates in the creation of a Mini-Museum or installation project in the participating school. In addition, the Gallery conducts professional development workshops in the visual arts, training teachers throughout Brooklyn. KIDSART includes examples from all these projects.

Located in Brooklyn Heights, just over the Brooklyn or Manhattan Bridges, the Gallery is also easily accessible by public transportation. It's a short walk from the 2,3; 4,5; M; N or R trains at the Court St./Borough Hall station; or the A, C to High St.

The Rotunda Gallery is a project of BRIC/Brooklyn Information & Culture. The Gallery is grateful to the Sally and Milton Avery Foundation, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, with support of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and the Brooklyn Delegation to the City Council, Con Edison, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York Times Foundation, the Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation, the Underwood Foundation, Verizon, and the Friends of the Rotunda Gallery for their support of the Education Program.