MoMA to Host Children's Summer Film Festival

The Museum of Modern Art will host a new museum program for kids in NYC that features movies for children. The museum's summer film festival for children will span four Wednesdays in July.

The Museum of Modern Art will host a children’s film festival with screenings on July 8, 15, 22, and 29. The Summer 2015 Little Member Film Festival, geared for children ages 8 and older will screen four films at The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, an outdoor courtyard at MoMA. Gates open at 7pm and films will begin screening at dusk.

This festival reflects the centermost part of MoMA and its mission of sharing modern art, says Richard Drake, events and benefits manager. “In a number of years [we haven’t] brought in families to experience our film collection,” he says. “It’s really going to open up a different side of what MoMA does.”

All attendees must be MoMA members at the family category or above and are encouraged to RSVP online to confirm their seats. Films are appropriate for children, but will also be engaging for the entire family. Screenings will use 16-millimeter print along with bouncing ball sing-alongs, demonstrating the narrative of modern art within the context of film. Activities will also be done with children prior to screenings relating to objects in the sculpture garden and the films themselves.

“Everything that we’re doing is all about education,” says Laura McGuinness, associate director of membership. “It’s all about immersing [children] in the art, getting them to be creative, and getting them to be involved.”

Main photo: The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Modern Art