The Uffizi Gallery in Florence has launched an initiative called UffiziKids, which includes lowering works of art to children’s eye level, as well as a new web page and printable worksheets.
UffiziKids enhances the museum’s existing children’s initiatives. In addition to a new logo, the Uffizi Gallery now has a team of representatives working to answer children’s queries.
“If you communicate with children in the right way you can open their eyes to the wonder of art,” Silvia Mascalchi, coordinator of the Uffizi’s Education Department, told The Art Newspaper.
“We want to make art normal for children, so that when they’re older they’ll think: ‘I’m heading to the city, I’ll pop into the museum,'” she added. Children are “the masters of asking difficult questions”, according to Mascalchi.
Lowering art to children’s eye level
For this reason, the Uffizi has appointed over 40 museum guards as kids representatives in a “global first”. The representatives wear special pins featuring the UffiziKids logo, a smiley face.
The UffiziKids web page boasts existing children’s material, including printable worksheets and information about child-friendly exhibitions.
‘Crescere nell’Antica Roma’, an archaeological exhibition, includes elements for children such as simplified label descriptions, comic strips, and works of art placed at children’s height.
The Uffizi describes UffiziKids as “a qualified point of reference for all those adults who are aware of how important contact with cultural heritage is in the growth and training of young people and how this represents an integral part of their individuality as people and citizens”.
Meanwhile, Italy has launched an innovative streaming platform called ITsART, dubbed the ‘Netflix of Italian culture’, offering access to virtual tours, museum exhibitions, and other forms of art.
Images: The Uffizi Gallery
