Meet Us at the Anacostia River Festival!

Anacostia River Festival 2015_6

Visitors to last year’s Anacostia River Festival colored their own postcards at The Phillips Collection’s booth. Join us for more coloring fun this year! Photo courtesy The Phillips Collection

We had a blast at last year’s Anacostia River Festival and can’t wait to be back next month. Here are some scenes from last year’s activities; join us April 17 for more fun in 2016.

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2015 Anacostia River Festival. Photo courtesy The Phillips Collection

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2015 Anacostia River Festival. Photo courtesy The Phillips Collection

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2015 Anacostia River Festival. Photo courtesy The Phillips Collection

Anacostia River Festival 2015_7

2015 Anacostia River Festival. Photo courtesy The Phillips Collection

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2015 Anacostia River Festival. Photo courtesy The Phillips Collection

Anacostia River Festival 2015_8

2015 Anacostia River Festival. Photo courtesy The Phillips Collection

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2015 Anacostia River Festival. Photo courtesy The Phillips Collection

 

Mailing #MyAmericanArt Postcards

One of the art workshops at the festival will be #MyAmericanArt postcards. •#MyAmericanArt Postcards. Families can create and share their own American masterpieces and send them to someone special.

One of the art workshops at the festival will be #MyAmericanArt postcards. Families can create and share their own American masterpieces and send them to someone special. Photo: Racquel Keller

I have been spending the last few months as an intern in the Education Department. It is an exciting time to be a part of the team since they are in the midst of gearing up for this year’s Jazz ‘n Families Fun Days.  At the event, participants can create American art-inspired postcards, and we really wanted something cool to get them excited about mailing them. As a result, I was asked to design a custom mailbox! This was right up my alley because as an artist I build assemblages out of found pieces.

The things I wanted to take into consideration were that it should be kid-friendly, fun, largely made of recycled materials, and be something that The Phillips Collection would be proud to have on-site…for however brief a period!

Be on the lookout for the mailbox at Jazz n’ Families Fun Days on June 7 & 8. Come on down to the art workshop, make a postcard of your own, and drop it in the box.

Below is a look at my process and the finished mailbox.

Racquel Keller, Education Intern and Museum Shop Supervisor

It all started with a sketch! Photo: Racquel Keller

It all started with a sketch! Photo: Racquel Keller

Found a great big box in Education and went on a little trip to Community Forklift hunting for bits and bobs!  I found a few odds and ends there, including this great piece of recycled Plexiglass.  Plexiglass was key because I really want the kids to see where their mail was going! Photo: Racquel Keller

Found a great big box in the Education offices and went on a little trip to Community Forklift hunting for bits and bobs. I found a few odds and ends there, including this great piece of recycled Plexiglass. Plexiglass was key because I really want the kids to see where their mail was going! Photo: Racquel Keller

Then I wanted to make it relatable to our mailboxes.  That took a bit more cardboard (an old box kindly donated by the Museum Shop!) and a bit of creativity! Photo: Racquel Keller

Then I wanted to make it relatable to our mailboxes. That took a bit more cardboard (an old box kindly donated by the Museum Shop) and a bit of creativity. Photo: Racquel Keller

And finally, the beautification – the box is covered with pictures from our collection!  Photo: Racquel Keller

And finally, the beautification – the box is covered with pictures from our collection. Photo: Racquel Keller