Parents: have you ever looked at your child’s whimsical scribbles and thought that they had a preternatural understanding of color, form, and line? That maybe you were the parent of tomorrow’s Pollock or Kandinsky?
Well, now you can compare your toddler’s work to that of some of the contemporary art world’s biggest stars to see just how well they measure up.
That’s the idea behind ProjectArt’s 2023 Gala and single-day exhibition, “My Kid Could Do That,” which will feature never-before-seen early works from well-known artists such as KAWS, Daniel Arsham, Dan Colen, LeRoy Neiman, Nate Lowman, Sarah Cain, and Jen Stark, among others. It will serve as a way for viewers to try and search for glimpses of genius in these artists’ earliest, most elementary pieces.
Daniel Arsham childhood work, courtesy of ProjectArt.
The exhibition will take place on November 2 in Brooklyn, and be followed by the gala fundraiser for the organization, which hosts art classes year-round in public libraries in Detroit, Miami, New York, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles. According to ProjectArt, more than four million elementary school students in the U.S. go without any arts instruction.
“By providing an unprecedented glimpse into some of the earliest works by these celebrated artists, ProjectArt reveals the crucial role of arts education by empowering youth to develop their creative potential,” the organization said in a release. ProjectArt students will be on hand for portrait sessions.
Left: KAWS, Untitled (1991). Linoleum block print. Created at age 17 for the cover of St. Anthony High School’s magazine Serendipity. Right: KAWS, THE PORTRAIT, 2021.
“Nothing speaks to our core message like this event’s childhood exhibit from the leading artistic icons of our era,” said Adarsh Alphons, ProjectArt’s founder and executive director, in a statement. It represents, he said, “the cultural, philanthropic and corporate leaders in the room sharing our vision and sentiment to invest for the long term in youth’s creativity.”
“My Kid Could Do That” is on view at Greenpoint Loft, 67 West Street, Brooklyn, New York, on November 2.