Brandywine River Museum to debut new rotating exhibition

The Brandywine River Museum will debut a new display of area student works on Nov. 10.

“Imagine Brandywine,” a new exhibition space at the Brandywine River Museum for the display of creative art projects by area school students, will debut on Nov.10.

The inaugural display – inspired by the museum’s collection and landscape – will feature more than 150 works by students in kindergarten through sixth grade from the Avon Grove Charter School (AGCS), located in West Grove and Kemblesville.

“It is with great excitement that we launch this new program,” said Thomas Padon, director of the Brandywine River Museum. “We have long had an array of educational activities that inspire children to look closely at art. With the “Imagine Brandywine” series, children will create works of art that address a particular subject or theme related to the museum’s renowned collection or the spectacular landscape surrounding it.”

“It always astounds me how brilliantly creative children’s art is, and giving these students in the community the opportunity to display their work will hopefully be as rewarding to them as I know it will be to the staff,” Padon noted.

Each year, the Brandywine River Museum serves more than 6,000 students through its field trip program, as well as offering workshops for educators. Seeing original works of art is an educational experience that cannot be duplicated in the classroom. The museum offers students from kindergarten through grade 12 the opportunity to make connections between school learning and the outside world.

The museum offers 15 different thematic guided tours for school groups that may be adapted to the curriculum and level of the group. Programs link art to a variety of subjects, including American history, literature, environmental studies and geometry. Financial assistance is available to schools in need for admission and transportation costs.

The exhibition by the students from AGCS will be on view through Jan. 5 on the lower level of the museum. Future exhibitions of work by students from the museum’s partner schools, including Caln Elementary in Coatesville and Chester Charter School of the Arts, will take place in 2014.

The Brandywine River Museum is internationally known for its unparalleled collection of works by three generations of Wyeths and its fine collection of American illustration, still life and landscape painting.  The museum also has three historic properties, the Andrew Wyeth Studio, the N.C. Wyeth House and Studio, and Kuerner Farm, which are open for tours from April through November.

The Brandywine River Museum, located on U.S. 1 in Chadds Ford, is open daily, except Christmas Day, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults; $6 for seniors, students and children ages 6 to 12; and free for members and children under six. For more information, call 610-388-” 2700 or visit www.brandywinemuseum.org.