PORTSMOUTH- Starting with a fun craft this February 1, the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center (SOMACC) is welcoming the community to their historic venue each month for their Make and Take events.

“Our Make and Take event is an opportunity for families, children, and community members to create an enjoyable, easy-to-make art project together, for free, during extended evening hours,” Museum Educator Heidi Bender Kauffman said. “Make and Take events took place at the museum in 2023, pausing due to a staffing change. We are reinstituting this event in 2024, and plan on Make and Take being a fixture in our educational programming for years to come.”

Bender Kauffman says the event is a great way to engage the whole family in the arts. It is also a great opportunity for friends to bond and relax.

“While the center of this event is providing our local population with opportunities to make art, there are many other benefits to this type of event. One role that museums play in communities is to provide a space where parents can bring their children to engage in culturally enriching activities,” Bender Kauffman explained. “The Make and Take is scheduled with extended evening hours so that parents can bring their children, or adult friends, to our museum after work and have a positive experience together. We also saw the need to provide extended hours during each exhibition so that working people could enjoy art on a regular basis.”

The February craft will result in the creation of bookmarks or suncatchers. They will also serve refreshments and allow people to walk around and enjoy the artwork.

“Our February Make and Take art project is a Valentine’s suncatcher or bookmark,” Bender Kauffman explained. “The art project will take place in our newly updated classroom space. There will be light refreshments available in the Kricker Gallery, where the ceramic art of Juliellen Byrne is currently on display.”

The event provides exposure to the arts, both through crafting and by viewing what is on display.

“Events like our Make and Take build positive social connections in both communities and within families. Our Make and Take will provide opportunities for artists of all ages to gain exposure to new art-making techniques, and will give all event participants a reason to come out and see great art,” Bender Kauffman said. “In addition to providing these opportunities for our community, we want to give visitors exposure to the museum, so that they feel that the museum is a comfortable, welcoming place where they can come in the future.”

While the museum offers a bounty of events within the walls and on the street, the staff believe it is important to extend their offering on occasion to reach even more people.

“The Southern Ohio Museum of Art and Cultural Center aims to serve all of the people of Southern Ohio, not only the visitors who can join us during our weekday operating hours,” Bender Kauffman said. “The Make and Take event allows us to reach populations of people who need extended hours or structured activities, and to provide for some of their social and creative needs.”

Make and Take will be held on every first Thursday of the month, outside of July. Staff will be welcoming guests between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m. Dates for the events are February 1, March 7, April 4, May 2, June 6, July 11, August 1, September 5, October 3, November 7, and December 5.

The Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center is at 825 Gallia Street. Someone may be contacted by telephone at 740.354.5629.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.