Wherefore Art Thou?
One of the things I love about traveling with children is the way it forces you to slow down and see things you might have otherwise missed. When traveling for work, I’ve hurried, I’ve rushed, I’ve been impatient. To be honest, I’ve even been one of “those” people that you talk about when you return home (and not in a good way). But with little ones in tow, they force you to see and enjoy the many random things you encounter along the way.
Sometimes this is a very inconvenient thing (think, “we are about to miss our flight!”) but sometimes this can be a very good thing. Public art is a great example of when slowing down to see things you might have otherwise missed can be a very good thing. I’m sure over the years when traveling sans children I’ve passed thousands of public art displays that I never noticed. With my kids along, this is most certainly not the case. They spot, point out and appreciate those nods of culture. It brings them joy to “discover” these gems during our treks near and far. And, I’ll admit it – it brings me joy too.
We once made public art the theme of our trip to keep our oldest busy, engaged and anticipating what we might discover around each corner. In the theme of Cowparade, (you know, the famous cows that become canvas for local artist and adorn cities throughout the world) Zurich, Switzerland featured a similar concept one summer involving bears. These bears kept one of our youngsters busy for a week trying to spot, visit with and pose for photos with the many bears we encountered. We even visited a few of our favorite bears several times because they were just so darn great.
Why not make public art a very integral part of your family’s next trip? It’s a great way to introduce kids to a destination’s cultural world and weave in an art appreciation message on a small scale and sometimes in a more relaxed manner.
So, slow down and stop to appreciate the public art along the way. You never know wherefore art thou.
