Making Amorsolo fun for children
My daughter has always loved galleries for as long as I can remember. While other kids zipped past displays, she would stop, gaze, and lose herself in the colors and stories on the walls. It made me so proud every time.
I can’t even say exactly how it started. Maybe it was the abundance of art materials that we provided for her long before she could even write her own name, or the online art lessons during the lockdowns. All I know is, she fell in love with paintings.
Her little hands would point at artworks, and she would talk to me about them as if she were the curator. I’d listen and react accordingly, making my eyes grow as wide as possible and saying in my most excited voice, “Really? I didn’t know that!”
When she was 5 years old, we would press our faces against the glass of galleries just to enjoy the paintings from the outside. The easiest kind of art to introduce to her were ones with the most chaotic details. I would watch her crane her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the artworks hidden behind the panels, the ones we could only see if we went inside.
We always did go inside, but not before I set the rules: No touching, running, or shouting. I would make her repeat each rule at least twice before we even entered. Most of the mall galleries we’ve visited have always accepted us with warmth.
Museums
Museums were easier to introduce to her because there are places that are child-centric, such as Museo Pambata and The Mind Museum. The first one we went to for the paintings was Ayala Museum where “Hymen, oh Hyménée!” was on display. We spent at least a good 30 minutes viewing that specific Juan Luna painting.
We took a lot of time because the displays leading to the painting were about the details that we should look out for. That’s why when the painting was finally in front of us, we searched for those details, and to this day, she holds the turtle in it close to her heart.
Looking back, I realize that our wonderful experiences didn’t happen by accident. They were shaped by a few habits and rules we followed each time we visited a gallery or museum. Our most recent outing was at the Ayala Museum to take advantage of their free day in celebration of their newest exhibition, “Amorsolo: Chroma.”
Here are a few tips that you could use if you want to bring your child to that exhibit. The first one is that we never go hungry. We drove by a fast food chain and ate our meals on our way, even if we just had breakfast before we left the house.
Children will be fine to stay for at least one to two hours at the museum on a full stomach. We took breaks in between, munching on snacks and hydrating in the lobby.
Setting rules is also very important. Make sure it’s clear to them what they can and cannot do when inside.
We chanced upon Inquirer Sports editor Francis Ochoa and his family on the same day we went. Our daughters are besties since they went to the same ballet school the previous year. Our kids were excited to see each other, but they ended up talking about online games they were playing rather than focusing on the paintings.
Interactive experience
I drew them back in by creating an interactive experience. I asked them questions about the paintings: What is the most striking color in “The Palay Maiden”? What are the colors of the sunset? Can they tell me what they are selling in the market?
What are these men doing under the mango tree? Yes, they are raking the leaves. But what do you see coming out of it? Correct, it’s smoke. I explained that it’s believed smoking mango trees can induce flowering. It was effective. Their focus shifted to what was before them.
Which leads me to the next tip: Do your research about the exhibit beforehand. Reading up on the featured artist and the displays would help your storytelling. For Juan Luna, I explained his importance as a Filipino artist. For Amorsolo, his status as a National Artist and what made him deserving of the title.
Children will get bored at some point. Thankfully, Amorsolo had a three-quarter style of portraying women to showcase their beauty and strength. The way I introduced this to my daughter was by playing a game of spot the difference between the “Water Carrier” and “Lady with Basket” paintings.
Another game we played was a version of “I Spy,” which was really fun when we were looking at the “Binyag ng Panganay” and “Market” and I made her look for objects in the painting.
“Amorsolo: Chroma” wants to introduce the first National Artist to a young audience, hence they had activities at the end, such as collaborative painting, coloring activities based on “The Palay Maiden,” and even touch screens where visitors can play with the artist’s colors.
We also participated in the live painting session hosted by Agos Kulay in the afternoon. It was her first time drawing based on a model. My daughter was exhausted when it was time to go home, and I rewarded her good behavior with ice cream.
We only focused on Amorsolo for this visit, but we did go down to the diorama so I could show her the Philippine Independence scene before June 12. And that’s okay. We don’t have to cram all the exhibits in one day.
I don’t expect that she will remember everything she saw, but at least I know for sure she now knows who Fernando Amorsolo is.
