Red Deerians were able to take part in a music-themed Family Day celebration.
The Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery hosted a free Fiddling Around on Family Day event on Monday, Feb. 17. This event featured fiddle-based performances from the Central Alberta Chamber Orchestra (CACO), an art project station, an outdoor art installation, a dance party and an “instrument zoo,” where attendees could create music for a CACO musician to play.
“We celebrate Family Day at the museum every year. Each year we do a different theme. This year’s theme focuses on ‘The music between us,'” said Chandra Kastern, Red Deer MAG executive director.
“We’re all about community. We offer a lot of family programming throughout the year and Family Day is a really good time to bring together all the people who come to the MAG. We’re one of the only places doing Family Day events … and I think it’s important — it’s always cold out and people want to get out of the house. A lot of people are looking for something to do and we love to have them at the museum.
In celebration of the Fiddling Around on Family Day event, an outdoor art installation was created by European artists Geertje Marquardt and Vytautus Musteikis, who are currently visiting artists at Voyageur Art and Tile, a local art studio owned by Dawn Detarando and Brian McArthur. This installation features large playable musical instruments made from various materials, including wood, clay and straw.
“When we arrived in Red Deer, we were a little bit on the countryside, and we began discovering the environment,” explained Marquardt.
“There ws a lot of straw. On our first day we began harvesting the straw because we really like (working with) natural material. We use that to do the artwork — we get in contact with nature. From there we found a lot of other things at Dawn and Brian’s workshop, including wood.”
Musteikis explained that they used clay to add colour to the stringed instruments.
Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women Tanya Fir issued a statement in recognition of Family Day.
“For the past 35 years, Albertans have welcomed Family Day as an opportunity to gather with loved ones and celebrate what it means to be a family. Families are at the core of province’s identity, and this Family Day we celebrate everything that families do for us, our community and our province,” Fir said in a media release.
