Celebrating Norooz at the Art Museum

After participating in the Big Canvas events last year I've been a little more conscious of the rich cultural life of the region. One aspect of the Big Canvas conversations was how the arts should be marketed and how people interact with it -- should it be the arts as a business, as an educational resources, as art for arts sake, or something else.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (www.philamuseum.org) displays many facets at once. This afternoon I took advantage of one of the family events, Celebrating Norooz. The museum hosts a number of these events throughout the year, geared towards families with young children, with age appropriate activities. The two kids I had with me (one of mine and a friend) were a little antsy at having to stand in line for about 20 minutes to get in. Quite a few people were there for the Cezanne exhibit; others were just taking advantage of the "pay what you wish" admission fee on Sunday.

Once we were in, though, the kids seemed to have fun. Norooz is the Persian New Year and, to be honest, I had never heard of it before. It was interesting to see the traditional table set and find out about the symbolism involved. The kids decorated egg shaped objects, colored in designs, made pictures based on tile patterns, and pasted traditional holiday objects onto drawings of the New Year's table. I looked at the calligraphy, the table on Zoroastrianism, and, my favorite, the traditional fabrics. They were hand-woven or hand-painted and in some cases handed down through generations. The craftsmanship was exquisite. One piece of light teal fabric had a hand-painted border with flowers, and a jaunty red bird.

We went through a few adjacent galleries, looking at paintings and sculpture. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The staff was helpful and patient.

For more information on Norooz, see wikipedia and the Norooz International Cultural Foundation.