Big Family Day at MOCA – June 7, 2015

Head to MOCA on Sunday, June 7, 1­:00 – 4:00 PM for Big Family Day, MOCA’s largest Sunday Studio celebration of the year!

This year, MOCA partners up with LA’s venerable Echo Park Film Center for a vibrant day of filmmaking projects and screenings (including visitors’ films made during the event), plus discussions and activities in the galleries led by captivating 4th­12th grade students enrolled in MOCA’s yearlong school program, Contemporary Art Start.

Though it’s called Big Family Day, BFD is an event for visitors of all ages and experience levels. Like all of MOCA’s Sunday Studio programs, it’s free and features Toddler Town—a special zone for small, exploring hands—food trucks, and great music to fuel you throughout the afternoon.

In all the work it does, the Echo Park Film Center inspires people to create media and not just consume it, learning that filmmaking—in many forms—is totally accessible to makers of all ages and experience levels. We heartily agree and are thrilled to team up, inviting people to experiment with a variety of filmmaking activities during the day. Here’s what you can do:

· Create a digital short with family or friends based on the question, “what change would you like to see?” Consult with Echo Park Film Center and MOCA artist­educators to art­direct your video, using posters you make and all sorts of props we’ll have on hand.

· Make a 166mm film without a camera! Draw, paint, and collage directly onto 16mm film stock for amazing effects.

· Make and manipulate short videos on old­school analog video equipment, which can change colors and the look of video as it’s captured on camera.

Then watch what you made in our mini­screening room, where we’ll be showing visitors’ digital, video and 16mm work periodically throughout the afternoon.

Thanks to the generosity of the Echo Park Film Center, you’ll be able to keep your work for posterity among a compilation of all the diverse film works screened that afternoon. Participants will be able to access it via the cloud or DVD following the event—sign up that afternoon to have the link emailed to you or to have a DVD mailed at no charge.

Simultaneously, throughout the afternoon, we’ll be screening inspiring films made by kids with the Echo Park Film Center in MOCA’s auditorium. EPFC artist­educators will be there to introduce film segments, sharing the motivations and outcomes of their inspiring work with kids.

Last and certainly not least, join mighty 4th­12th grade students in MOCA’s galleries for engaging conversations and mini­activities related to artworks on view in the museum’s newly installed permanent collection exhibition. These special students, along with approximately 4,300 more elementary­through­high school students across LA County, participate in Contemporary Art Start, MOCA’s yearlong school program. In CAS, students come to MOCA twice over the course of the year, their teachers receive extensive training at MOCA and in the classroom, and families are involved through free passes and family programs like this one.

On June 7, look in the galleries for these great students who will be wearing t­shirts with big red question marks! They’ll be equipped with questions, information about selected works, and a hands­on activities that range from drawing and writing prompts to demonstrations of artists’ materials and processes. They’d love a visit from you.