A new exhibition at SebArts plays for keeps
The Art of Play opens tomorrow, August 9, at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Sebastopol Center for the Arts’ newest exhibition, The Art of Play, is a fun and fanciful show, filled with artistic interpretations of play, interactive art pieces that are meant to be played with, as well as creative toys and even playground designs.
The opening reception for the exhibition is Saturday, Aug. 9, from 2 pm to 4 pm. The exhibition runs from Aug. 9 to Sept. 7.
The exhibition’s theme was dreamt up by Sebastopol Center for the Arts director Serafina Palandech, who says that the concept of play, as a theme for artistic expression, is having a moment worldwide.
“The Copenhagen Contemporary has an incredible entire floor dedicated to play. It's called ‘A Feather in Your Hat.’ The Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany, has an exhibit called ‘Kids Take Over,’ where the children curated their own exhibition. It’s an entire global conversation,” said Palandech, who just came back from Europe. “In fact, the United Nations just declared June 11, the International Day of Play, which recognizes that play is a fundamental right for every child, and it’s critical to human development.”
The juror for the show is Cas Holman, an internationally known toy designer and playground designer, whom Palandech knew from their college days. Holman has been featured in a Netflix documentary called “Abstract: The Art of Design.” She also has a new book coming out from Penguin in October called Playful: How Play Shifts Our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity.
When they began planning the show, Palandech was surprised to learn from Holman that many of the world’s experts on play live in Sonoma County, including playground designer Jay Beckwith, who lives in Sebastopol. The show includes some models from the playgrounds he designed in the 1970s.
“He’s considered the founder—the father—of the modern playground movement,” Palandech said.
One of the first things you’ll see when you walk into the gallery is a giant wood, metal and acrylic orb called the Perplexus, by local artist and SRJC professor Michael McGinnis. (McGinnis is also the creator of “Gray Matter,” the metal sculpture on the outside of the Sebastopol Library.)
“He created this toy, the Perplexus, that is sold all over the world,” Palandech said, holding out a small toy version, a 3-D, hand-held, marble maze about the size of a bowling ball.
Local toy creator Dan Klitsner, inventor of the Bop-It line of toys, also has work in the exhibition.
The show includes the work of both national and local artists. The artist Alyson Dobbert, who was part of SebArts incubator program, decided to make a tinker toy version of one of her abstract paintings. The result is featured on the poster for the exhibition.
SSU professor and artist Diane McNulty submitted this large and compelling interactive piece, which Palandech demonstrates below.
Part of the exhibit space will be a play area for adults and kids.
“This entire area is to be played with,” Palandech said, motioning to one of the smaller galleries. “There are various toys to play with and engage with. Amanda Lynn is doing a drawing, the outline for a mural, and then everyone’s gonna be encouraged to paint directly onto the walls. There’s gonna be little stop action movies playing and comfy cushions—just really fun and engaging.”
The opening reception on Saturday will feature musicians Ali and Warren Mann and a ramen bar, Palandech said.
“Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we’ll have the Children's Museum of Sonoma County do a ‘museum on the go.’ They’re going to do a big presentation and have a whole family day. The Discovery Museum from Sausalito is also coming to do a day here,” she said.
There is also a raft of arts education classes connected to the exhibit:
August 4: Trashlantis Kinetic Sculpture Maker Camp (Ages 9-14). In this art camp, which wrapped up this week, kids created their own rideable kinetic sculptures which they will be riding around on as a part of the exhibition
August 10: Explore Your Own Visual Language Collage
August 10: Family Fun: Monster Makers with Clay
August 13: ART SHARE- Show & Tell: Playful & Beyond
August 14: Come Play with Clay w/ Randy Snyder
September 5: Art of Play Panel. A lively and insightful discussion that brings together a group of experts exploring the intersection of play, creativity, and artistic expression. This panel features: Adriel Ahern – Children’s Librarian at the Sebastopol Regional Library, who brings a literacy-focused perspective on how stories, games, and community programming cultivate creativity in young minds.
Dan Klitsner – Inventor and designer behind dozens of award-winning toys, offering a deep understanding of how design and play spark engagement.
Michael McGinnis – Toy inventor and professor known for creating the 3D labyrinth game Perplexus, whose work bridges engineering, imagination, and hands-on learning.
Thank you so much for your insightful reporting! I live right by SebArts but would not have realized that this amazing show was going on! You provide a huge service to this community.