Kansas City, MO. March 4, 2015

Visitors Invited to Touch, Interact with Exhibition Elements

Jump In! Architecture Workshop, the first self-generated architecture exhibition organized by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, converts the Project Space in the Bloch Building into an interactive studio. Visitors can experience an overview of architectural concepts through five interactive modules highlighting landscape, community, building type, style and material. Provocative questions, project examples and activities help develop and expand an understanding of how architecture impacts almost all aspects of everyday life. This interactive exhibition is currently on view in the Great Plains Trust Company Gallery in the Bloch Building.

“The art of architecture begins as an expression of creativity that stretches into almost every aspect of our lives.” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “This unique exhibition explores a creative concept that will both engage and delight our visitors.”

Visitors can expect an active and dynamic experience that includes more than 2,000 building blocks, touch-screen maps, and tactile walls. An original card game, 5 Card Design!, gives players a set of unusual features and instructs them to design their own structure using the provided prompts. Outcomes can be shared in the gallery space and also through social media outlets via #JumpinArch.

“We are very excited to present Jump In! Architecture Workshop, the first architecture exhibition organized by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.” said Catherine Futter, Louis L. and Adelaide C. Ward Senior Curator of European Arts. “We have created an exhibition that deconstructs the complex subject of architecture and encourages visitors to explore it hands-on. Through activities and interactive tools we hope to generate interest in the built environment that we experience every day.”

An advisory task force of architectural leaders—including staff from Barkley, BNIM, City of Kansas City, Missouri, el dorado inc., Generator Studios, Helix Architecture + Design, HNTB, Hufft Projects, the Kansas City Design Center, Populous, Zahner—worked with curators in the development of the exhibition as well as providing architectural tools, models, and a 3D printer for visitors to view.

Jump In! Architecture Workshop will be open through July 19, 2015.

Exhibition Credit Line: Jump In! Architecture Workshop is supported by the Campbell-Calvin Fund & Elizabeth C. Bonner Charitable Trust for exhibitions, the Rheta A. Sosland Fund, BNIM and Helix Architecture + Design. 

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art 

The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access and insight into its renowned collection of more than 33,500 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and new American Indian and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region. The institution-wide transformation of the Nelson-Atkins has included the 165,000-square-foot Bloch Building expansion and renovation of the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building.

The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are Wednesday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission to the museum is free to everyone. For museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org/.