Take ‘Remote Control’ Over Figge Museum’s Latest Exhibit
Remote learning and working remotely have become a way of life for many over the past several months. To continue this trend, the Figge is creating a new interactive exhibition that encourages participation by people of all ages to engage by simply sending an email from a phone, tablet or computer. All participation is electronic whether you are in the museum or at home.
Remote Control will open in the Figge’s second-floor Mary Waterman Gildehaus Community Gallery beginning Friday, July 10. This exhibition allows for remote play through a variety of activities and games, but participation from the public is needed in order for this exhibition to work. All are invited to play, discover, add to the conversation and stitch a story into the fabric of the community.
Ways to play are divided into five games in the exhibition space: WordUp, FAMlibs, FAMily Photo Album, MASHup and Community Painting. Each area will include instructions on how to participate through the Figge website www.figgeartmuseum.org. As participants send 
in their responses to any and all of the games, a Figge staff member will update the exhibition daily, resulting in a community collaboration. The public will have remote control of the gallery space.
WordUp – respond to the prompt using just one word that will be hand-written by a staff member and posted anonymously in a wall collage. The prompts will change every two weeks.
- FAMlibs – new and nonsensical stories will be created with eight words of your choice in this order: thing, action, thing, describe, describe, action, action, thing. Just click on the Google form.
- FAMily Photo Album – share images in response to one-word prompts that will be added to a digital album, printed and placed on the wall in the exhibition space. The photo you choose should reflect your response to the prompt.
- MASHup – submit a drawing based on the changing themes. Draw your dream home, favorite animal, tree or self-portrait on an 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper and email it as a scan or photo. The drawings will be cut up and put together with other people’s drawings to make new creations.
- Community Painting – this is painting done by instructions. Follow the directions online to submit directives for the Figge staff to paint. It will be an ongoing collaboration and prompts will change every two weeks. Click on the Google form to make your choices!
To participate, visit www.figgeartmuseum.org/art and choose the exhibition. Click on the form link or email your response to any of the interactions to: RemoteControlFigge@gmail.com. In the subject line, use the tagline for your interaction (i.e. PHOTO, WORD, MASHUP). Please send one email for each response. NOTE: Make sure your response matches the current theme as themes will change every two weeks.
Participants will receive an email response and are encouraged to stop in the museum or check online to see your reaction.
“There is no experience quite like visiting an artwork in person, but now more than ever it is also important to connect with each other and with our community,” says Figge Education Programs Coordinator Heather Aaronson. “We hope this exhibition serves not only as a way to play and to connect, but also to be a record and reminder of our shared existence, even though we are apart in many ways.”
Follow the Figge on social media, subscribe to the weekly eblast and visit www.figgeartmuseum.org regularly for the most up-to-date information on how to contribute to this collaborative exhibition.
Remote Control will be on view through August 30, 2020.
