FREEDOM FAMILY DAY AT THE CLARK ART INSTITUTE CELEBRATES FINAL DAY OF ‘RADICAL WORDS’ EXHIBITION

For Immediate Release

October 17, 2014

Williamstown, MA—On November 2 from 1–4:30 pm, the Clark Art Institute holds its first Family Day since its grand reopening in the summer. Freedom Family Day is held in conjunction with the final day of the Clark’s exhibition Radical Words: From Magna Carta to the Constitution, which features six documents critical to the formation of American democracy: an original copy of Magna Carta, a broadside original of the Declaration of Independence, a draft of the United States Constitution annotated by George Mason, an 1863 official folio copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, an 1876 original of the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States, and a 1949 copy of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Freedom Family Day offers something fun for all ages. Forty-minute family-friendly gallery talks about artistic freedom are offered at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm. At 2 pm and 4 pm, David Grover and Friends lead sing-alongs featuring songs about peace, love, and freedom.
Several art-making projects will be offered in the West Pavilion and on the Fernandez Terrace of the new Clark Center, including:

· Designing a coat of arms
· Making a flag
· Creating a seal of approval
· Decorating a Liberty Bell
· Recording written rights onto a “chain of rights” strung into a garland
· Writing declarations on an outdoor graffiti board
· Delivering soapbox speeches
· Learning calligraphy in a workshop

All activities are free. Timed tickets are required for the Radical Words exhibition; free tickets can be picked up at the admission desk.

Radical Words: From Magna Carta to the Constitution has been organized by the Clark Art Institute, in partnership with Lincoln Cathedral—Bringing Magna Carta to the USA. It is generously supported by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the officers and employees of Allen & Company, Inc., the Gilder Foundation, and an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, open to the public with more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark opened its expanded facilities on July 4, 2014, unveiling new and enhanced spaces that accommodate the continued growth of the Institute’s programs. Included in this final stage of the project are the new 42,600-square-foot Clark Center designed by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, expansion and renovation of the original Museum Building and the ongoing renovation of the Manton Research Center by Selldorf Architects, and a sweeping redesign of the grounds by Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architecture. The first phase of the campus expansion project was completed in 2008 with the opening of the Lunder Center at Stone Hill, a striking conservation and exhibitions facility also designed by Tadao Ando.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20 through October 31, 2014 and free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

Press contact:
[email protected]