By Liz Leamy
Last Tuesday, The Greens at Greenwich and Bruce Museum joined forces to host a memorable event in which participants, more than 20 in all, were guided in a collaborative and unique experience involving dance, art and movement.
This sold-out event, titled ‘An Afternoon of Wellness: Exploring How Art Moves Us’ was held at the Bruce Museum and kicked off with a guided tour of its exhibition, ‘Tracing Lineage: Abstraction and its Aftermath’ in which participants examined its featured artworks through the perspective of movement and mark making.
Participants were guided through each portion of this fascinating tour by Corinne Flax, Bruce Museum Manager of School and Community Partnerships and Maria Scaros, Executive Director of The Greens at Greenwich as well as Grace Holden, a registered Dance and Movement Therapist who practices at Greenpoint Psychotherapy, as they moved, danced and ‘experienced’ the artwork featured among various art collections at this renowned museum.
“Dance, art and music are part of our human condition and the idea of how movement is related to art is fascinating,” said Scaros. “Movement is a way for people to engage with the arts.”
Flax echoed similar sentiments.
“This is a different way of experiencing art and it is focused on movement through the lens of the [Bruce] museum and its exhibition,” said Flax. “First and foremost is the actual experience of art and there are valid entry points into having that experience of art.”
Upon moving through the first portion of the tour, participants then went on to dance to music alongside the illustrious artworks of Anila Quayyum Agha that has been featured in the Bruce Museum’s Changing Art Gallery since February and will run through April 21st, 2024.
This spectacular exhibit, titled ‘Anila Quayyum Agha: Dualities,’ features several large-scale sculptural installations created by Agha, a renowned multidisciplinary artist, that involve light as a means to transform the space around each piece into immersive visual spectacles, something participants seemed to embrace and appreciate through this unique opportunity.
“This event was amazing. Having the music and adding the movement to the experience of being with the art is something I’ve never done before,” said Robin Staver, MS Ed, CMC and CDP of Staver Care Management LLC and Certified Care Manager, Aging Life Care Advanced Professional and Certified Dementia Practitioner who attended the event. “I will always remember this and it was really special. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done and I hope they repeat this again.”
The event concluded with an informative discussion lead by Flax and Scaros followed by a question and answer session with the entire group.
“Movement can be a wonderful bridge. You become part of the installation through movement,” said Flax. “When we activate these artistic spaces with movement and music, they are experienced as part of life.”
This event marked the second of the four ‘Afternoon of Wellness: Exploring How Art Moves Us’ experiential installments that will run through next fall through the partnership of the Bruce Museum and The Greens at Greenwich. (The third offering of this series is slated to be held at the Bruce Museum in either May or June.)
For more information, please contact:
The Bruce Museum
1 Museum Drive
Greenwich, CT 06830
(203)869-0376
www.brucemuseum.org
The Greens at Greenwich
1155 King Street
Greenwich, CT 06831
(203) 531-5500
www.thegreensatgreenwich.com
