Bucks’ art museum on wheels, The Bucks Artmobile, will tour its new show, “Structures & Stories: Contemporary Book Arts” at Bucks County K-12 schools and public sites now through June 2017.
The 48-foot semi-trailer and art exhibition has traveled to all 13 districts of Bucks County. It even made an appearance in Washington, D.C., in the late 1980s at the annual meeting of the American Association of Community Colleges.
Fran Orlando, the director of the Artmobile- Hicks Art Center Gallery, said that the mission of the Artmobile is to foster an understanding of art by providing the people of Bucks County “access to fine, original works of art in their neighborhoods.”
Orlando said programs like this foster a role of leadership at Bucks.
“Through innovative and stimulating exhibitions appropriate for all ages, the Artmobile establishes the college as a center for community services and cultural activities.”
The Artmobile was a bicentennial project founded during an energy crisis in 1976. Fieldtrips became too expensive for schools due to expensive gas prices. “Artmobile filled a critical need by providing a museum experience right at the school. Now as teachers feel ever more pressed to make the most of instructional time, Artmobile continues to provide a cost-effective and time-efficient museum experience for their students,” said Orlando.
By the time Orlando became director is 1986, Artmobile’s popularity grew enough to change the frequency of new exhibitions from twice a year to once every two years. This enables Bucks to accommodate all of the schools that request visits. Over the course of this tour about 30,000 students and adults at 60 schools and seven public sites in Bucks County will see the Art mobile exhibition.
The theme of the new exhibit is “Book Arts.” This theme essentially includes pieces that are books, made of books, or inspired by books. Sue White, book artist and curator, selected the individual artists and pieces for the show. “Books Arts is the perfect marriage between sculpture and narrative – or structures and stories,” said Orlando.
The show features many interactive displays. Orlando said iPads serve as “interactive wall labels” that show videos related to the artwork.
Simple toys, such as a Jacob’s ladder and paper crafts, let visitors use their senses of touch and sight to develop a greater firsthand understanding of the art.
A rotating selection of student-made zines was put into the show as “A way that visitors could actually participate or contribute to the exhibition. I wanted the show to be more than just looking at what others had done, I wanted to encourage everyone to be inspired to express themselves and make art,” according to Orlando. Student zines can also be viewed on an online gallery on the Artmobile page at the Bucks website.
“The hands-on displays in Artmobile are planned to reinforce the concepts presented by our educators, but they’re also meant to be fun,” said Orlando.
Artmobile stays at each school, usually over the span of four to five days, until every class can see the exhibition. Orlando said, “Teachers and students know to expect museum-quality works, interactive displays, professional educators, and educational materials.
In the spirit of accessibility Orlando said, “Artmobile is appropriate for all grade levels and is accessible to individuals with mobility constraints. Our professional educators engage students of all ages in dialogue about the art through tours geared to their grade level.” Educators are also available to provide information and informal discussion at public sites.
“I want all of our visitors to leave Artmobile having had an enjoyable, accessible and unique learning experience that wets their appetites for more exposure to the arts,” said Orlando.