Click here to join us for Free First Saturday at Home! Watch new videos and short films and download art-making activity instructions all in one place.
Art and artists play a meaningful role in bringing people together, building community, and healing. This July 4, explore how artists use movement and music to express themselves.
Free First Saturday at Home features free performances, games, art-making, and kids’ films on the first weekend of every month. Most activities will remain on the website after July 4, so you can return to continue making art with your family.
You can also check out videos and download instructions for art-making activities from May and June as well as fill out the survey to let us know what you’d like to do in future months!
To participate in this online event, you will need internet access; a computer, tablet, or smartphone; and some limited art-making materials:
Paper
Large piece of cardboard
Coloring materials like crayons, markers, or colored pencils
Paint
Scissors
Tape
Small household items like coins, Legos, silverware, toothbrush, etc.
One foot of string (optional)
Glue (optional)
Magazines or newspapers to create a collage (optional)
Apron (optional)
Available Activities
Dance: Celebrate Our Interdependence on July 4th!
For all ages; pre-recorded video available July 3–31
Join Alanna Morris-Van Tassel in a movement workshop grounded in the philosophy of ubuntu, a Nguni Bantu word meaning “I am because we are.” We will explore our shared humanity and commit to caring action in our communities to build a more just and inclusive world. Approximately 20 minutes.
Dance: Traditional Music and Dance from South America
For all ages; pre-recorded video available July 3–31
Enjoy the sounds of traditional instruments from the Andes Mountains and explore the rhythms and energy of Latin America with mother and son duo Ina-Yukka. Learn about the Cueca, the Chilean national dance, and get ready to dance Tobas from Bolivia! Explore how musicians use music and dance to express the change they would like to see in the world. Approximately 30 minutes.
Create: Jazz Up Your Drawing!
For ages 4 and up, young kids may need some help from an adult; instructions available all day
Build your own drawing tool, then use it to create an abstract drawing inspired by the work of Jack Whitten. Along the way, listen to the jazz music that influenced Whitten’s creations!
Explore: Seek and Find!
For ages 3 and up, accompanied by an adult; instructions available all day
Explore the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden with your family with this fun scavenger hunt!
Watch: Kojo
For ages 6 and up
Follow 12-year-old jazz drummer Kojo Odu Roney, who has been playing the drums nonstop since he was one year old. Kojo reflects on his love of jazz and learning from his mentor and father, saxophonist Antoine Roney. Kojo’s personality, musical style, and passion are as mesmerizing as his music. Directed by Michael Fequiere, produced by All Area Crew, 2017, 14 min.
Michael Fequiere (pronounced fay-key-air) is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker. His short films have screened in numerous festivals such as the L.E.S. Film Festival, the Big Apple Film Festival, and the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner. Fequiere is always searching for unique stories to present in both long and short form and strives to make films that engage, inform, and excite audiences.
Ina-Yukka is a mother and son duet performing traditional folk music and dances from South America as well as the “Nueva Canción” social movement and musical genre. Ina means mother in Dakota and other languages and Yukka means son in Aymara and Quechua language. The two have been singing together in the Twin Cities for more than 10 years, sharing the sound of folkloric harmonies, traditional flutes, indigenous percussion, and activist lyrics.
Alanna Morris Van Tassel is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and artist organizer based in the Twin Cities. Morris-Van Tassel’s classes for children use the creative arts, imagination, and play as a springboard to facilitate learning and self-development. Adult classes combine a variety of classical and contemporary forms supported by ideology of the West African Diaspora traditions to inspire communal and personal healing and connection to Spirit. Alanna Morris-Van Tassel Productions (AMVTP) was founded in 2017 to produce uplifting and inspiring stories of the human experience through collaborative solo performance, educational programs, and community building—and to partner with local and international artists and organizations that share a similar vision.
