It’s finally time! After years of being closed for renovation and a few COVID-related setbacks, Star Studio is open again in the IMA Galleries. The family activity space is designed for two- to 12-year-old guests and their caretakers as a place for intentional play, art making and bouncing off the walls, although guests of all ages are encouraged to enjoy the space too. Wednesday Rees, who spearheaded the project, says, “Star is a safe space for kiddos and their caretakes to enjoy, have fun, and leave feeling equipped and encouraged to take deeper dives in the IMA Galleries, in The Garden and in Fairbanks Park.” 

Star Studio has three major components, all combining art and nature. A digital garden that changes with the seasons and uses artworks from the IMA collection as a backdrop, an oversized search and find, and DrawTogether an artmaking station with renowned visual storyteller, Wendy MacNaughton. The entire space was a collaborative effort designed by Newfields’ Interpretation team, led by Tascha Horowitz and Wednesday Rees. MacNaughton donated her time and talents to the project as well.  

Children are loving every aspect of their very own space. I caught a couple of seconds with seven-year-old, Emily, on her way out of the winter digital garden, where she was immersed in two winter landscape paintings by Hoosier artists, John Wesley Hardrick and Randolph LaSalle Coats. As she jumped and twirled, she left her footprints in the snow while leaves slowly fell around her. She leaned in to tell me, “I LOVE this place!” I asked her what else she had enjoyed doing today, as she proudly showed me the snail she had drawn and hung up on the DrawTogether gallery wall.  

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Star Studio for young creatives is the opportunity to draw in DrawTogether alongside Wendy MacNaughton, known to adults for her work illustrating for the New York Times and books including, ‘Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat’ by Samin Nostrat, but better known by children for her YouTube videos that began during the pandemic. Like most of us, MacNaughton’s day-to-day changed in March of 2020, and her mother suggested she and her wife, Caroline, start a guided art class for kids on YouTube. She was expecting a few people to tune in, but over 11,000 people ended up tuning in. 

The approximately 10-minute video in Star Studio called DrawTogether in Star Studio, follows the same format as her YouTube videos, which are all filmed in her entirely hand-made studio in San Francisco, CA. MacNaughton guides kids through fundamentals of drawing shapes from nature, and encourages them to have fun, be curious and to pay attention to their surroundings and to their feelings. Her ‘no mistakes in art’ philosophy is refreshing and inspiring, and children are captivated by her lessons. This is her first major project for a museum, and she is delighted by the opportunity to give kids a space to participate in art making within this environment, but mostly she is excited for kids to be able to hang their creation on the wall in a world class museum.  

After hanging their work on the gallery wall, and taking in all Star Studio has to offer, kiddos are invited to take a pencil and head out to the IMA Galleries, The Garden, and Fairbanks Park to continue to experience art and nature with a brand-new perspective.  

Support Wendy Mac’s foundation, DrawTogether Classrooms, a program to provide comprehensive Social Emotional Learning-based art programming at low or no cost to schools, districts, and community-based organizations.  

Exhibition Credit

Support for Star Studio is provided by The Lacy Foundation and BKD CPA's and Advisors. Generous in-kind support for the Digital Garden experience is provided by Epson America, Inc.