A local group is helping to bring a centuries-old art movement to the younger generation.
Tonight the Alliance Française de Gainesville will host a museum night at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art with tours, a musical performance and Monet-related activities.
The alliance’s goal for the evening is to inspire children, students and families through the art of the impressionist movement, said Amandine Hom, interim president of the alliance.
“We wanted to make the event family-friendly,” she said.
Hom, a native of Burgundy, France, will be giving tours of the exhibit in both French and English. Kids will have the opportunity to recreate Monet’s works with crayons and watercolors.
The Harn’s “Monet and American Impressionism” exhibit features 25 artists and four Monet paintings, including a renowned piece from his bridge series, Hom said. She will discuss how Monet influenced other impressionist artists. In addition to the tours, the alliance will provide an art history lesson on various impressionism techniques for children, said Debbie Parrales, executive director of operations for the alliance.
“We really wanted to offer activities for the kids to get something out of it,” Parrales said.
She wanted to be a part of the local French community after she graduated from UF and said she was happy to see the alliance and UF French Club put on the event. Parrales hopes to inspire a curiosity in French culture in Gainesville.
“We’re just doing this for the community,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 2/12/2015 under the headline “Gainesville French alliance to host Monet museum night"]
