By Chris Feeley, Young At Art Museum

As the exhibitions are being installed in the new $26 million Young At Art Museum and Broward County Library, which will open to the public on Saturday, May 5, the impact of what families and visitors share becomes more and more evident. At the new museum, multi-cultural artistic disciplines will create a colorful panorama of the world in which we live, one that will transform the way children and families use art to share experiences and shape their communities.

Here are a few examples of how the new Young At Art Museum will fuse different artistic disciplines for education and fun as part of its mission to provide inspiring, interactive experiences in which art is central to shaping young minds. Through the eyes and works of internationally acclaimed artists including Edouard Duval Carrie from Haiti; Leonel Matheu from Cuba; Chisseko Kondowe from Kenya; Kenichi Yokono from Japan; and Seminole artist Pedro Zepeda, the installations in CultureScapes celebrate diversity and brings new understanding of our culturally diverse world through the eyes and art of contemporary artists.

Another imaginative exhibition not only crosses disciplines but encourages use of recycled materials to create art. Located in GreenScapes, renowned puppeteer Pablo Cano’s Magical Workshop & Theater will be a creative infusion of recycled puppetry-making, performance art, film and music. Families will design and perform with their puppets and view Cano’s process on film. GreenScapes also is home to an urban STOMP! streetscape where children can use unconventional musical instruments to create their own versions of the internationally acclaimed theatrical performance group.

With the 10,000 square-foot library, a synergistic relationship between art and reading will create a unique learning experience for families to enjoy whether they reside in South Florida or are just here visiting. The new Young At Art Museum and Broward County Library will be a model for other museums to follow.