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Clyfford Still Museum's New Exhibit Created With The Help Of Children Across Colorado's Front Range

(CBS4) - The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver has been transformed to become a more kid-friendly place. It's all part of a new exhibit that was co-created with the help of children from across Colorado's Front Range. All the art featured in "Clyfford Still, Art, and the Young Mind" includes artworks selected with families in mind.

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"Babies from the ages of 6 months old to children up to eight years old did everything for the exhibition. They selected artwork, designed how it will look on the walls, and even shared their perspectives about the work so we can share that with our visitors," says co-curator Nicole Cromartie.

The museum even changed the height of its front desk, reconsidered how the paintings were hung, and redesigned interactive activities to make them more kid-friendly.

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"One of the biggest things we wanted to explore and hopefully dispel with this exhibition is the idea that abstraction is too obscure for young children to enjoy," says co-curator Bailey H. Placzek. "We watched infants stare at and reach for these reproductions of Still's abstract paintings. It was so clear to us that abstract expressionism is accessible to everyone, no matter your age, background, or knowledge base."

Cromartie and Placzek stress parents don't need to know anything about art to enjoy this exhibit with their children.

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"We saw our young co-curators interacting with the exhibit with so much joy and enthusiasm. It's really thrilling to see the way their eyes light up," says Cromartie. "Your child will lead you through this exhibition, they know what they like and are ready to share with you what they think about it."

"Clyfford Still, Art and the Young Mind" is on display through Aug. 7.

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