Last weekend, we welcomed over 4,000 visitors for Jazz ‘n Families Fun Days to try out instruments, make artwork and crafts from recycled materials, hear stories in our library, and of course listen to some live jazz! Thanks to the DC Jazz Festival, all of the participating DKMC Walk Weekend museums, and everyone who attended.
Tag Archives: children
Mailing #MyAmericanArt Postcards

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

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